Last month, Nuçi’s Space launched the “Reconstruction of the Steeple” Indiegogo campaign to refurbish the St. Mary’s steeple—the site of R.E.M.’s first gig—and to help fund the nonprofit resource center’s programming for 2015.
As of today, the crowdfunding campaign has raised over $128,000—a whopping sum, but well shy of its $250,000 goal. Since it met the halfway mark, though, Indiegogo has agreed to extend the fundraising deadline past its initial Dec. 13 date to Jan. 2, says project manager Marc Tissenbaum.
Tissenbaum says the organization is particularly stressing the campaign’s steeple-brick package, where donors will receive a brick removed from the structure during renovation, as well as have their name added to a donor wall near the steeple.
“If you want a translation into Steeple Bricks sold, one brick pays for one therapy and one psychiatric session, three bricks will send one child to the Camp Amped After School program, and six bricks will send one child to the Camp Amped Summer program,” says Tissenbaum.
Below, the statement from Nuçi’s Space:
Buying a brick and making a donor wall dedication is a great way to connect yourself or someone you love to the Athens music scene forever. It is a touching tribute to someone no longer here, whose love and influence helped shape your life. It is a fine gift to your children, who can come back throughout their lives and find their names and feel that connection. It is a great way to fill in the details of Athens music history by adding your band name, if you are one of the many, many thousands of people who have participated in the music scene over the years.
As an agency that assists adult musicians in need and also encourages young musicians through the mentorship of our Camp Amped programs, we feel like this is a way to combine all of the support people feel for the Athens music scene, the hard and sobering work that we are called upon to do, and our love and nurturing of the youth that are inheriting our legacy. This wall will truly be a community wall, and it will prove that community is a feeling of love and sharing that goes beyond geographic boundaries and connects us all.
Donate to the Reconstruction of the Steeple campaign here.
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