2.16.05

Dave Matthews Band

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, February 1, 2004

Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications

415-554-6131

*** PRESS RELEASE ***

DAVE MATTHEWS BAND GIVES $1 MILLION TO BAY AREA CHARITIES

$750,000 To San Francisco Part Of A Larger Gift To The Bay Area Totaling $1 Million

Mayor Announces $250,000 Gift To Renovate Visitacion Valley’s Sunnydale Playground

San Francisco, CA – Mayor Gavin Newsom announced today that funds totaling $1 Million raised from last summer’s Dave Matthews Band concert in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park will be disbursed to a variety of Bay Area charities. One quarter of the funds will immediately go to renovate the Sunnydale Playground in the Visitacion Valley neighborhood.  One quarter of the funds have already been donated by the band to the Bay Area-based Taylor Family Foundation which provides summer camp for children with life threatening diseases. The remainder of the money raised, $500,000 is earmarked to assist efforts to reduce homelessness in San Francisco.

“Dave Matthews Band’s generosity stands out as a model of private/public partnership,” said Mayor Newsom. “It is fitting that we use some of the funds to rebuild this playground and reaffirm our commitment to revitalizing this and other long neglected neighborhoods.” Newsom continued, “Building safe and fun recreational facilities for inner-city youth is critical in order to give them a positive and healthy way to spend their time.”

A representative for Dave Matthews Band added, “San Francisco has always been a very special place for our band. The City has a history of humanism and activism and we are excited to join our fans in being involved in making San Francisco a better place to live.”

The group – Dave Matthews, drummer Carter Beauford, bassist Stefan Lessard, saxophonist Leroi Moore and violinist Boyd Tinsley have supported a wide variety of charities through their Bama Works Foundation which was established in 1998.  The group has donated millions of dollars in grants to a variety of organizations in their hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia, and around the world. Beneficiaries have included public education, community parks, youth community clubs, the Amazon Rain Forest and AIDS organizations.

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