BackroomLive Miami sets up a fund to help musicians out of work because of pandemic

Local musicians need our help.

Since 2005, BackroomLive at The Fish House Miami has been a venue for local performers to play gigs for lovers of jazz, blues and so much more.

Live music, actually, has been played at the restaurant since Day One.

“As a coincidence, we opened the business in 1996, on Elvis Presley’s birthday, an omen for the amount of music we would present in the future,” said Angela Rivero, BackroomLive manager.

But starting March 17, with stay-at-home orders taking effect, many of those musicians were suddenly out of work. Over 100 of their gigs were canceled overnight.

Rivero quickly started a way for them to get help.

“Unfortunately, the pandemic situation forced us to cancel so many gigs,” Rivero said. “That is the reason I started the BackroomLive Miami Cats Go Fund Me.

“I have already disbursed $540 to several grateful musicians. Go Fund Me will reimburse us next month, so The Fish House is disbursing funds to these cats sooner than later.”

BackroomLive Miami, she said, is a place where live music lives and hundreds of musicians play, keeping alive the culture of jazz and blues throughout the year.

“These cats, as I like to call them, love to play here because I feed them, well that, too, but getting a gig a week is a way to live for most.

“The donations will be distributed on your behalf to the artists that were scheduled to perform during this time. If there is a surplus we will continue disbursements to any former artist who has performed in the past in BackroomLive like David Leon, Melinda Rose Rodriguez, Aurora Natrix, Joey Gilmore, to mention a few.

“Some of our regular Jazz Cats who will benefit are Marc Berner, Peter Betan, Federico Britos, Ahmed Barroso, Brev Sullivan, and Blues musicians like Darrell Raines, George Caldwell, Janey Wish, and Motel Mel also, who kept weekly gigs doing the Blues Jam on Thursday’s at BackroomLive,” she said.

To donate much-needed funds, you can go to: https://www.gofundme.com/f/backroomlive-cats

BackroomLive at The Fish House Miami also hosts jam sessions where students and faculty from local music schools can join in to play and learn together.

In 2016, The Fish House started another new platform called Backroom Sessions for local artists based in Miami. Events include multi-genre showcases, featuring the best local bands, rappers, poets, comedians and even filmmakers.

Visit www.thefishhouse.com where, under Events, you can still see all the music that was planned.

Help for Autism community

With the outbreak of COVID-19, the University of Miami-Nova Southeastern University Center for Autism and Related Disabilities has created a one-stop-shop to help members of the Autism community in both English and Spanish.

Help includes assistance with distance education — including tips and activities for children, teens and adults — to materials to re-establish routines and a Social Narrative explaining COVID-19.

The UM-NSU CARD’s Linktree website (https://linktr.ee/umnsucard) has fast become a great help to families.

“We know that for parents who have children with autism, established routines make a big difference. It could be as simple as going to school and visiting their therapist, to a weekly trip to a local park,” said Dr. Michael Alessandri, executive director of the UM-NSU CARD.

“COVID-19 has upended everyone’s lives, so we have adapted and continue to provide as many services and educational aides as we can to South Florida’s autism community.”

Check out www.umcard.org to register for virtual training courses, support groups, as well as recreational and wellness groups to keep active.

April 22 is Earth Day

Now is a good time to start a garden, learn to compost, count birds, and draw nature around you.

As all of us learn to live with social distancing, it’s important to remember we remain connected by the natural resources of our planet.

This year is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, a worldwide event.

Environmental NGO EarthEcho International, founded by Philippe Cousteau Jr., the grandson of French explorer and oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, has put together a list of some at-home activities that you can do to help restore the planet and each other.

These include simple tips on regrowing food scraps to begin composting at home, learning to garden, participating in a bird count, sketching natural scenes near you, watching nature documentaries, and reading about our Earth.

“From the water that feeds our communities, to plants and animals that make up healthy ecosystems, we are all part of a much larger system that sustains us; that’s true now more than ever before. Understanding our connection to the natural world and taking positive steps to protect it can help create hope and optimism when we need it the most,” Cousteau said.

Visit http://www.earthecho.org/news/athome for more including free ongoing virtual events and homeschool resources.

Help for LGBTQ+ nonprofits

The Coronavirus pandemic and all the related economic shutdowns are presenting unprecedented challenges for critical LGBTQ+ community nonprofits in South Florida, posing near- and long-term financial hardship.

Our Fund Foundation announced the launch of the Our Fund Resilience Fund that will provide critical help in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

The Foundation pledged $150,000, and, for the first time in the nonprofit’s almost decade-long history, will offer a one-to-one match “to galvanize donors to contribute at this critical time. All monies raised will be distributed to LGBTQ+ agencies in South Florida.

“The LGBTQ+ community has overcome devastation brought on by a pandemic in the past, and together we can do it again,” said David Jobin, president and CEO of Our Fund Foundation. “We are committed to supporting agencies advancing LGBTQ+ causes in South Florida through the COVID-19 crisis.”

Our Fund’s Resilience Fund will provide immediate relief and long-term recovery. For more information, or to make a donation, visit www.our-fund.org/response/ or call 954-565-1090.

Nonprofits can apply to Recovery Fund

So many of our local nonprofit organizations have had to shut their doors to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. This has led to them to cancel revenue-generating events and absorb unexpected costs.

At the end of March, The Miami Foundation launched the Community Recovery Fund to help those nonprofit groups that have been hard hit. It seeded the Fund with a $300,000 contribution to support their long-term recovery, resilience and financial stability.

“The Miami Foundation works with close to 1,000 organizations in our community serving countless residents each year. Through our grant programs and annual Give Miami Day, we have a deep and thorough understanding of the incredible work of the nonprofit organizations in our neighborhoods, allowing us to quickly move dollars to stabilize nonprofit partners working on the ground so they can focus on helping residents get through this uncertain and unprecedented time,” said Joseph A. Fernandez, interim president and CEO of The Miami Foundation.

The first $100,000 grant was made to United Way’s Miami Pandemic Response Fund. The Foundation partnered with United Way of Miami-Dade, Miami Herald/el Nuevo Herald, Health Foundation of South Florida, and the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau.

All individuals, corporations and donors are encouraged to help build the Fund, so it can respond quickly as the coronavirus situation develops. Contributions of all amounts can be made online at MiamiFoundation.org/COVID19Response.

Miami-Dade-based nonprofits in need can visit MiamiFoundation.org/COVID19Response for instructions on how to submit information. In the interest of expediency, there is no formal application process at this time.

If you have news for this column, write to ChristinaMMayo@gmail.com