CLEVELAND - Elevation Festivals, creators and producers of the Midwest's largest contemporary music festivals announced that through their 2022 music festivals they were able to facilitate contributions totaling $250,000 to various organizations in the markets where Elevation stages its festivals: Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh.
The organizations benefitting from Elevation's four '22 festivals include The Lakeland Foundation-Music Arts Programming in Kirtland, MedWish International-Ukrainian Relief in Cleveland, Indy Park and Recreation in Indianapolis, The Alleghany Parks in Pittsburgh, The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, the Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus and On Our Sleeves-The Movement for Children's Mental Health in Columbus.
"When we started festival #1 in Cleveland in 2016, our first champion was Michelle Wesley of the Wesley Family Foundation," stated Elevation President Denny Young. "Michelle encouraged us, rightly so, to use live music to elevate our communities through a give-back program that would bring attention and money to various organizations where we stage our events. She was the catalyst behind Music Elevates, which if you have attended WonderRoad, WonderStruck or WonderBus, you have been exposed to Music Elevates each and every year. And this mission has helped fuel strong relationships with organizations including CAS (A division of the American Chemical Society based in Columbus and a global leader in scientific information solutions), The Shipyard (A Columbus-based marketing agency - Engineering Brand Love),
"I believe in the power of both Music and Community," stated Michelle Wesley. “In a post covid world, we were fortunate to see just how impactful gatherings like ours could be for people's mental health and the common good of our cities. I think it's clear when we come together we can do great things. These Wonder Festivals are our way of leaving a helping footprint.”
"Last February, MedWish began working with recipient organizations to facilitate shipments of medical supplies to Ukraine to help those impacted by the war. To date we have shipped approximately 150,000 lbs. of support as part of our crisis relief efforts," stated Britta Latz, Executive Director of MedWish International. "Not only did Elevation provide financial contributions early in the crisis that enabled MedWish to provide aid, Elevation also allowed us to spread the word about our efforts at the Wonderstruck Music Festival."
"We’re grateful for the support of Elevation Festivals and their commitment to raise awareness and promote innovation in mental health research and treatment. This support from the community will allow us to continue our efforts to help people struggling with mental health challenges and to build resilience where we learn, work and live," said Dr. K. Luan Phan, chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
Elevation Festivals also worked with This Must Be The Place in an effort to help save lives. This Must Be The Place is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization harnessing the arts to help treat substance use and behavioral disorders. This past summer, the team traveled the country’s music festivals handing out over 10,000 doses of free Naloxone in the fight against the fentanyl epidemic.