Not Another Charity Gig.

Niall S.

Hey everyone, since its been almost a month since our last Benefit gig (Sept 11, in da music centre) I am now thinking of organizing another gig, when we had the last one somebody suggested that we should be trying to help people a little closer to home.
I am just thinking out loud here but if I can organize a gig in aid of the IBTS ( Irish Blood Transfusion Service ) where instead of paying into the show the targetted attendee's donate a pint of blood instead, would this be a success.
I know that it is a lot of trouble to go to see a gig, but if you have never been motivated to give blood before or if you think that you would donate blood but you have just not gotten around to it yet would this be a good reason to motivate you toward doing donating blood soon.

If so then I think that its a worthwhile cause I am in the progress of organizing this, I am to hear back from the booking manager of the Music Centre I already have a fair idea of the bands who I would like to see play.
So if anyone has any opinions can they please forward them onto me or if anyone thinks that they would like to be involved can you also contact me.

Regards.

Niall.

Kurdt

hmmmm....giving blood and going drinking aint the best thing to do...good idea n all...but you'd have ppl falling over (more than usual)...

i wouldnt be able to give blood anyway coz i did it bout a month ago and you can only do it every three months...

anyhoo...you can expect me to be there whatever its in aid of...good luck organising

thedrowner

i reckon it'd be too much hassle, and people wouldnt show
but good idea anyway

Niall S.

hahahahah, well I didn't mean that you had to go in the day of the gig and then get into the gig for free.
I am trying to organize that the blood donor clinics would have comps to get into the gig and they would heva them for the month leading up to the gig then, all you have to do is go to the clinic anytime for the month leading up to the gig donote your DNA then ask for a comp to the gig and then spend the next few days/weeks recovering from the ordeal.
Then you can turn up to the show, of course we will also have a coverage charge at the door that can be used, this will cover the costs of the venue hire cause some people will just not let someone touch them with a syringe.
But hopefully people will also use the targetted method of Admission so that the real benefactor of the gig will be taken care of.
Well anyway, its early days yet, the gig has not even been organized yet.

But anyway thanks for the feedback this is all good, keep it coming.

Cheers.

Niall.

Thomas from Presence

Niall hows about you book the gig three months from now and give the Vampire Survival Board (its not just for Haemophiliacs!) tickets to give to people who donated.

I think maybe the best way to help those vampires is to just go down and give blood. We could go the traditional road and run another fund raiser and use the money to buy blood off desperate students the night before they get their grant money/paycheck. I'd sell a kidney at those times myself....

thedrowner

well that soudns like a very good idea
and 3 months is a good bit of time
hopefully, theyll let me give blood someties soon (i ahvent been well enough to give it recently)
so count me in
but sort it out quickly so i know whether it'll be even more wrth my while to give blood or not

Niall S.

I am awaiting word from both the Music Centre and the IBTS, The Music Centre will only call me if there is a date that they can't seem to get rid of.
And The IBTS I have never dealt with before so I don't know where I stand with them, but I will say that I have a pain in bum organizing things like this that I don't get anything for, and then these so called do gooder charities not only want us to take care of all finances promotions and arrangements to do with the gig they also want us to do what they should be doing, going around with buckets looking for good samaritans to donate extra cash for the cause.
Its just a head wrecker, so this will maybe not take place unless I get the venue cheap like the last time, and if the IBTS will help out by getting Comps printed and giving them to donors, cause I sure as hell ain't gonna stand outside every blood donor clinic giving away flyers to all the potential blood donors that walk by, I believe in helping, but only people who will help themselves.

We'll see what happens.

Niall.

Silverfish

Niall,


Perhaps its the three pints of guinness talking here (go away, mental images) but are you targeting me there??

somebody suggested that we should be trying to help people a little closer to home.

Good stuff. The IBTS need donations so badly. The only problem is (and , perhaps you knew this already?!!! Good man!!) that I can't donate blood.....

No gig for me so!! (dammit)

Is there any way that we can pay on the door instead? I know that to donate blood involves time off work, and a lot of people aren't going to go to that hassle to go to a gig (shame on them!! You should be donating blood anyway. Think about the free orange juice at least!)

Silverfish

I have a pain in bum organizing things like this that I don't get anything for, and then these so called do gooder charities not only want us to take care of all finances promotions and arrangements to do with the gig they also want us to do what they should be doing, going around with buckets looking for good samaritans to donate extra cash for the cause.

Eh, did I read that right???


What the hell are you doing it for then, if you hate it that much?

'do-gooder charities'?? Uh.....I'm confused...contradictions-in-terms do that to me.....

'not only want us to take care of all finances promotions and arrangements to do with the gig '

Niall, love, I know I am so far up your nose at this point, but charities....you don't just go to them and say 'i've got 4 bands willing to do a gig. Arrange it for me, will you?'

Either you're doing it for the good of the cause or you're not. 100% or nothing. You can't possibly say to a charity 'I want to raise money, but you have to take care of the finances promotions and arrangements to do with the gig '

If YOU are taking care of all this, then YOU are the good guy. But if you're going to begrudge them the work you put in, and make a scene over it, then I'm sure they'd prefer you didn't do the whole thing.

I know you're doing a good job, and putting in hours and effort, but posts like this don't make your good work exactly shine through.

Niall S.

Man, you totally got the wrong impression there, it wasn't that I am pissed off that the Charity's are not worth the hassle or that I am doing it for any other reason other than for the cause that its advertised as.

I am not happy with Concern's involvement with the 9/11 gig, not only did we not even get one person from concern to come to the show even to do a speach, but they didn't even get some people that come along to go around with the buckets asking for donations instead they just gave us the buckets and wanted us to do it for them.
Like organizing a gig and putting line ups and backline together then there is the matter of the venue itself then advertizing and promoting the gig, which was done by myself and Tom sticking up posters and handing out flyers to get people to come along.
I had to practically beg people to do things for free ( Posters, visuals, phantom ads ) cause I was trying to keep the costs down so that there was more money to donate.

It was just us putting in alot of effort and Concern didn't even ask some of there volunteers to come along and support us, and then when hot press did the review it was all about Concern and how mush effort they put in and it was in vain cause the turn out was pretty ****, there wasn't a single mention of GigSmart.
Its just annoying, basically I will make the earth move to make these gigs a success, but I want the benefactors to atleast show a little support, and do the bare minimum, like give complimentary flyers to your donoters for the month coming up to the gig, simple really.

No I am not looking for someone to praise my efforts but I think that we should have atleast got a mention.

And yes, you can still pay in to the gig, but due to the IBTS being government funded, I won't be donating the cash to them, it will more than likely be another fund.

Niall.

Silverfish

Ahhhhh. I see.

I have a response to that as well (don't I always) , I'll pm you.


And for future reference, there's no need to waste your time typing long responses to me, 'Silverfish, shut up.' normally suffices.

Kurdt

silverfish, shut up! hehehehe

what about cancer research?

Silverfish

How about the Down's Syndrome association?

I constantly get tackled to the ground by people collecting for Concern, but never, ever for the DSA.

Or Cancer Research.

Or Leukaemia research. Or the Childrens Hospital in Tallaght who, when my sister was there, couldn't afford to open the childrens intensive care unit, so kids of any age were in with older people, which is an upsetting experience for already sick kids.

Or the Childrens Hospital in Crumlin, cos basically, its falling down.

Shut up yourself, Kurdty Kurdt, I was making a valid point, Niall can argue his own corner, he doesn't need you helping him out, Kurdty Kurdt.



:mad:

metalish

ohh those Concern people always get me!!

Kurdt

your words silverfish not mine

and thats some good thinking outta ya silverfish

Silverfish

Hmmmm, good thinking. I dunno.


Its just that people always seem to want to fundraise for large charities who already have lots of people donating to them, and who have their own fundraising agendas and who get large donations from companies as well.

But there are a lot of small forgotten charities out there, who basically don't have the cash to advertise themselves, they just get on with their work. But without the advertising you don't get the donations, and without the cash, you don't get the advertising.

There are also charities that make people feel uncomfortable, i.e the DSA, people prefer to forget these people exist at all. Its only in the last few years there's been any support, and its only because of the publicity of the Special Olympics that the government took notice as well.

stickinikki

is 15 too young to donate blood? ive wanted to for ages but i think you have to be over 16?

Niall S.

Mmmm, all of those are good, I was thinking of doing something a little bit smaller and therefore more valueable to a smaller number of people.
You see basically I could put on a good show and raise about € 500.00 for the agreed charity, but lets face it € 500.00 for cancer research isn't really going to help them out drastically, I am sure that it will be much appreciated n all but still there are better ways of ensuring that the money is truly appreciated and even used to raise further money for another fund.

Here is my Idea, I was thinking about getting in touch with someone I know whom works in Stewarts Hospital/School for Special Children, these kids spend all day everyday in a drab environment with little to be enthusiastic about, I was thinking of giving the € 500.00 to a particular Class in the school and they can go on a fully paid for field trip to the zoo or something like that, or I could sponsor an event, this would make a smaller number of people very happy.
But the other question is how do we decide which Class gets to go on the trip, well the school could run a clean up day and cleanest class gets to go on the trip something like that, that will give some kind of better quality of life to the kids even if it is for just a field trip.

Well anyway keep the suggestions coming, I will listen to all of them and take them on board.

Cheers.

Niall.

Silverfish

Go Niall.

This is a really, really good cause. Its kinda unfair that only one class gets to go, but thats the euro for you.

My brother was in a really, really poxy special school for a few years. Thankfully now he's in a better one, where they're actually bothering to do stuff with the kids all day.

So good stuff.

thedrowner

sounds like a plan. maybe you could do a gig in a hospital/special needs school or somehitng, that'd kinda be fun for all the kids to see?
just makin suggestions....

Niall S.

I was thinking of doing something like that also, but the thing is that they would all be children and the bands would have to be very radio friendly and idealy they would have to be Cover bands. Or the Kids wouldn't be into it, and the parents wouldn't come in either, but maybe a Disco or something like that would be a better idea.
I am not really much of a Disco man myself, ( despite to what Trev or Tom would have you believe ) but maybe I could find something like that to put on, or even a talent show.

Again the Music Centre has not got back onto me yet, but if they don't I will try to out something on in Dorans or Whelans.

Watch this space.

Niall.

stickinikki

talent show! thats a brilliant idea! i vote, we all turn up, and entertain them with out various musical "talents"

Niall S.

Originally posted by stickinikki
we all turn up, and entertain them with out various musical "talents" [/B]

Is that suppose to be we all entertain them with OUR various musical "talents".

If so, then I think that you were right the first time.

hahahahahahaha

stickinikki

lol..either way itll be fun to watch!

thedrowner

oh stikkinikki, the age for donating blood is 18, forgot to mention that.

stickinikki

oooh damn..well..there goes my plans...:p ..what if u get parental consent?

thedrowner

nope, u ahve to be 18, over a certain weight/iron content, and not have suffered from various illnesses and cant have taken various medications in various times previous to donating