Featured Child – Carolina Laboy Torres

10-year-old Carolina Laboy Torres is a cerebral palsy patient from Puerto Rico. She received her Song of Love in person on September 10th when John Beltzer came out to Puerto Rico to record the song with everyone at a fundraiser organized by Britney Vargas! Carolina loves to go shopping with her mom and dad and loves listening to music with her sister, Krystal, especially the music of Luis Fonsi. She also loves hanging out with her cousin Rafaelito and spending time with her dog, Violeta! We are so excited that we were able to give Carolina her very own song of love in person!

Featured Songwriter – Thomas Jones

Thomas Jones has been bringing his special brand of upbeat, lively music to Songs of Love for over 10 years! Writing music since he was 8 years old, Thomas is a graduate of Ithaca College and was part of the graduate music programs at the University of Southern California and Rutgers University. He currently records and performs with various artists, as well as producing for other artists, as well as for radio and television commercials. Thomas also has a website, kiddytunes.com, where you can hear his music and find out more about this personalized songs. Since he began working with Songs of Love, he has written almost 2,000 songs! We are thrilled to have Thomas as part of our team and thank him from the bottom of our hearts for the wonderful work he does for children every day!

Events & Other News

We are excited to announce that Steve Smith, wide receiver for the New York Giants, has joined our symphony! Steve will be posting about Songs of Love on his Facebook page, where he has 140,000 fans, as well as auctioning signed items for our charity. Steve will also be doing a video asking people to support Songs of Love. Steve, welcome to the Songs of Love family!















Another exciting addition to the Songs of Love family – this month, we are excited to announce that celebrity chef Marcel Cocit has joined us in our mission as a spokesperson and as a member of our advisory board. Recently, Marcel hosted cooking segments for CBS during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Check out video of the segment here! Welcome aboard, Marcel!













We are extremely excited and grateful for the $5,000 grant Songs of Love received this month from the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the New York Tri-State Area(RMHC) and the Child Welfare Foundation. Through their generous grant, we will be able to create personalized songs for many more children!















Songs of Love is excited to be included in the Second Edition of “Music As A Natural Resource Compendium: Solutions for Social and Economic Issues”, launched by the International Council for Caring Communities (ICCC) on September 30th, 2010. The compendium, which features 55 music projects from 33 countries, was presented at the National Arts Club to a large group that included people from the United Nations, government and the general public. The event was held to support the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and UN HABITAT’s “Better City-Better Life” World Habitat Day Celebrations. The compendium is viewable on the United Nations website UNPAN (the United Nations Public Administration Network) - you can access it the UNPAN website.


On September 10th, Songs of Love founder John Beltzer and songwriter of love Carl Allocco made a trip to Puerto Rico for a fundraiser organized by Song of Love recipient Britney Vargas! Britney Vargas, a "songs of love" recipient herself, was so moved after she received her "song of love" back in 2008, that she decided to bring Songs of Love into her home town of Puerto Rico. For the past year she got busy organizing an online fundraiser through the Firstgiving program and raised over $4,000 for the Songs of Love Foundation! Britney then proceeded to organize an event in her home town of St. Germain and raised an additional $3,000! Songs of Love founder, John Beltzer, was invited to join the event at the St. Germain convention center and engaged the guests in the live recording of a "song of love" for 5-year-old cerebral palsy patient Carolina Torres.This is the first official "song of love" in Puerto Rico and will be the first of many as Britney and family will be instrumental in helping the Song of Love Foundation deliver many more "songs of Love" to the children of Puerto Rico.
The Songs of Love Foundation thanks Britney and the entire Vargas family for their support and wonderful hospitality!







On September 27th, we held our Annual Swing & Sing Golf Outing at Fox Hollow Golf Club in Branchburg, NJ! Despite the rain, the golfers had a great time, teeing off to raise money for Songs of Love. Afterward, they gathered to record a song for a NJ child! Thank you to everyone who made it out for the exciting event!











On September 11th, Susanne Hodge of Orange Park, FL hosted a fundraiser and performance in Jacksonville, FL! Special thanks to Susanne for her enthusiasm and commitment to Songs of Love!


In November, SUNY Medical Center held a fundraiser for Songs of Love. Through their efforts, they raised $2000 for our organization, helping us to keep operating and bring songs to 8 more children! Our deepest thanks to SUNY Medical for this wonderful effort!


In November, Songs of Love had a special visit from Tito Ibarra, a recipient of a song of love! Tito first appeared on a local New York TV show in 1999 and received his song during the broadcast. 11 years later, he is doing great and has completely recovered from his leukemia! Tito was totally inspired by his "song of love" and, as a result, has gone on to become a recording engineer! During his visit, he teamed up with Songs of Love founder John Beltzer to write and record a song for 6-year-old Bodhi Moore of Emmett, ID.


In August, Scott Hunt, CEO of Hunt Brothers Pizza in Nashville, TN (http://www.huntbrotherspizza.com/), helped Songs of Love reach out to more people! At a NASCAR race at Watkins Glen, Scott and crew placed Songs of Love on the bumper of driver Elliott Sadler's car! Enormous thanks to Scott and Hunt Brothers Pizza for getting the word out on Songs of Love and, ultimately, helping us get songs out to many more children in need!




Christmas is just a couple of weeks away – be sure to download our Christmas ringtone to your phone! This cheerful tune is available thanks to our very own songwriter of love Donna Britton! You can download the song here!



Also, be sure to check out the Songs of Love Customized Jingles for Facebook! Visit our Facebook page and choose from 14 different jingles for different occasions to send to a Facebook friend!

"Thank You" Letters - December 8th, 2010

Before we head to our letter of the day, we just want to give you a few tips on how to donate your car to charity if you are considering making this generous donation. You might be donating your car, vehicle or boat to charity to keep from the annoyance of selling your car, while also getting a bonus by being able to get a tax deduction as well. You can avoid some common pitfalls by avoiding middlemen, i.e. for-profit organizations advertise helping you with your car donation, as they tend to keep 50-90% of the car's value. In the end, the charity that gets the donation doesn't get very much of that donation. You should contact your favorite charities (such as Songs of Love's car donation program) directly.

Also, finding a charity that represent a cause you support is important. A great source for researching charities is online, with sites such as Charity Navigator.

We'll be giving more advice on making the most of your car donation in future posts, so stay tuned! It all goes towards our charitable goal of bring customized, personalized songs for healing to sick children, like the child mentioned below.



John and Songs of Love Team
 
Thanks again for the great personalized CD, written by Thomas Jones, for our daughter Amelia Jane Mazour.  She loves to dance every night to the song and it makes us all smile.  Thanks for all you do in helping these kids still be kids, even though they are  faced with life’s toughest challenges.  We finally got a decent photo of Amelia hugging her CD and thought we would share.
 
Thanks again for your generosity.
 
Mark and Lottie Mazour

"Thank You" Letters - December 6th, 2010

The new year is just weeks away! If you're in the market for a new car, consider donating your old car to Songs of Love! By donating your car, you are helping us fund many songs for sick children all over the world. A car donation goes a long way, as it costs us $250 to write, record and produce an original, personalized songs for a child dealing with a life-threatening or chronic illness. If you're still not sure if you should donate your car, please read the letter below from the family of one of the thousands of children we have helped over the past 14 years. Best of all, your car donation is tax-deductible!



I just wanted to thank everyone there for making the song of love song for Jacob Covil. He loves it and so does his little sisters of course since they are named in it. They all dance around like crazy. It is such a beautiful song everytime I listen to it I tear up. Thank you for making our rough times special with this CD. I can't not tell you how thankful I am.
 
Thank you!
 
The Covil Family

"Thank You" Letters - December 3rd, 2010

As the weekend approaches, we are reminded of how many young lives we affect in the work we do with the letter we bring to you today. The holiday season, and thus the end of the year, is upon us. As we work to bring Songs of Love into a new year, we are still facing financial difficulties. Please consider donating your car, your time or making a monetary donation if you can to help make music for another year and for years to come. The letters from the kids and families who have received songs are a testament to the impact of music on their young lives. A $250 goes to fund one song, while a car donation helps fund several songs for several children! Make a difference today!




Dear Thomas,
 
My son Justin has attended Sibshops in Seattle for six years now and he has come home with many terrific craft items and stories of his time with other kids whose sib has special needs. Nothing quite compares to the DVD he came home with this month! I knew they had worked on some writing about their sibs and that a DVD was going to be made but I thought it was a collective about the kids. On the way home when we listened to your song, echoing Justin’s words and feelings about his sis, Carrie, I got all teary. Grateful that Justin has a safe, caring place to share his feelings, proud that he has such love and pride in her – despite – no because of - her many challenges, and curious about the wonderful people behind the songs!
 
Bless you for bringing to life a brother’s love for his sister. He knows her well! Purple and string and water and Barney and mac and cheese and Missy Me and that everyone loves her. I’m going to attempt to send you a pic so you see the girl that inspired him.
 
Again, thank you so very much.
 
Lynn Vigo

"Thank You" Letters - December 1st, 2010

A car donation or a cash donation can make a world of difference to one (or many!) sick children! The cost to underwrite a "song of love" is $250 - make a donation today to help a child receive a song. If you would like to donate a car instead, you'll be helping out several children! Plus, with a car donation or a monetary donation, you could qualify for a tax-deduction!

Today's letter is another illustration of the power of music and the real healing you are giving every time you donate.


Thank you so much for making my son, Will, a songs of love song. He really enjoyed listening to it and we played it at his birthday party and our family and friends thought it was just so great. My son passed away November 11, 2008 due to liver failure from complications from Leukemia. We played Will’s song at his services and put it to pictures of him. I still listen to it and think about him and remember how he looked when he heard it for the first time. He was proud. I will cherish this song always. Below is a link to the song to his pics.