About this project

Jonathan Scott (Guitar) is launching an unusual project to raise funds to benefit music and art programs in public schools: beginning on New Year’s Day 2010 and continuing for the rest of the year, Jonathan will turn his motorcycle into a fundraising machine. Donors can make a one-time contribution or pledge cents on the miles traveled by Jonathan on his bike for periods of three, six, nine, or twelve months. To date, corporate sponsors who have either made a pledge or donation include D’Addario Strings, Atlanta Event Video, Xcessive Sound Studios, and Blair Aviation

“As a parent with two young daughters in elementary school,” Jonathan said, “I am seeing first-hand that there is a vital need to assist these programs. Under current budget restraints, art and music are constantly in jeopardy of disappearing from the school system altogether.”

The motorcycle project is not Jonathan’s first foray into fundraising. His band, Big Muddy, also serves as a vehicle for funding various causes that the band members feel are important (click here to view a short documentary film about the band). To date they have donated to United Way, Breast Cancer Awareness, American Cancer Society, Georgia Sheriff’s Youth Home, Pineland Youth Home, Harmony House (a battered woman’s shelter) and Project Lifesaver (guardians of autistic children, Alzheimer’s and special needs patients with wandering tendencies).

If this is interesting to you then please read on for more in depth detail...

My name is Jonathan Scott and I am trying to start a movement that will raise both funds and awareness for art and music programs in the school system. These are the programs that are always last on the list to receive funding assistance, and first on the list to have funding taken away. It is a known fact that music and art develop critical thinking skills in early childhood development. This raises the question. How can we as adults let our kids be denied a vital part of their development? These are the people who will be running the country when you and I need to be able to afford prescription medications, will be relying on social security, will need assisted living programs that are affordable, and will need medical insurance that also is affordable just to name a few. Yet with our “lottery assisted” education system these programs continue to be last on the list of importance.

As an example Hollis Hand Elementary, where one of my children attends, has to hold an annual fundraiser every fall to come up with $20,000.00 in order to have one music and one art teacher on their campus. This is normally done by the usual methods of parents selling wrapping paper, cookie dough, and the school putting on a carnival. This is the scenario repeated over and over and is just one school out of the fourteen elementary schools we have in our county. This is just one county out of the 159 counties in the State of Georgia. You get the idea. Every school has to go through this. It is absurd and we have to change it. I have an idea to begin the long road to fix this and need your help.

I will ask friends, family, groups, individuals, local and national businesses to sponsor me for one year’s riding on the motorcycle I have purchased for this project. This will be done at a rate of the donor’s choosing. I will also sell advertising space on the bike itself, and or on the clothing I wear (helmet decals, patches on clothing, etc).

Example: If I can get one person to pledge one cent per mile for a year, and I ride five thousand miles then that would raise $50.00 to be collected at the end of the riding.

Much of my riding will consist of me attending charity bike rides in the area. So I will be giving to the charity ride I am attending, and at the same time will be earning cents on the mile for my own cause. Daily journal entries will help promote the charity I rode for and may help to raise additional funds for that particular cause.

I will document the entire year of riding from New Year's Day 2010 at noon till New Year's Eve 2010 at noon, which will be done with photos and video on Facebook, Yutube etc. There will also be blogs and Twitters to go along for the ride. Some of my rides will be to schools where I will meet with faculty to talk about their art and music programs. This is one way that I hope to raise awareness / interest in this important topic.

The potential for this to be huge and well received publically is certainly there. Everyone I have talked to about this has said it is a fantastic idea and wants to help. Please take a leap of faith and help me raise funds, and awareness for our children. Art and music in our schools needs our help. I am just one person with one idea using one bike. Think about what can be accomplished once this gets going. I believe that there will be many others out there that will use my new found “excuse” to ride Sally ride!

Kind regards,
Jonathan Scott

ps. You can see Big Muddy in action by following this link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch...