Band Together and Urban Ministries of Wake County Raise $552,000 for Open Door Clinic

RALEIGH, NC, May 17, 2012 (Press-News.org) Nearly 4,000 music lovers came together for good music, good times and a good cause at Band Together NC's annual charity concert on May 12 at Cary's Booth Amphitheatre. Iconic cosmic rockers The-B-52s, also known as the World's Greatest Party Band, headlined this year's event which raised $552,000 for Urban Ministries of Wake County, Band Together's 2012 nonprofit partner. All proceeds from the May 12 event will go to fund Urban Ministry's Open Door Clinic, which aims to provide physician visits, prescriptions and lab work for many of Wake County's uninsured residents battling poverty.

This year marked record highs for the annual event, which featured headliner The B-52s along with regional favorites Southern Culture on the Skids and BIG Something, winner of Band Together's 2012 Last Band Standing competition. Event highlights from this year included:
• Band Together tops $2 million in funds raised for Triangle-area nonprofits
• $552,000 raised in 2012 - most money ever raised for a nonprofit partner
• Almost 4,000 attendees
• More than 190 sponsors
• Nearly $25,000 raised through a special silent auction, "wine grab," autographed guitar raffle and text-to-donate option
• Almost 1,300 VIP attendees, who were treated to premier stage-front viewing, an artists' village with live painting, a photo booth to capture the evening's festivities, mobile device text-to-give and online silent auction bidding and a host of other VIP attractions.

The $552,000 raised from this event will help Urban Ministries of Wake County's Open Door Clinic treat an additional 420 new patients over the next two years, providing all physician visits, lab work and prescriptions. In 2011, the Open Door Clinic provided 7,000 medical visits and filled 52,000 prescriptions to Wake County residents in need. The Clinic helps keep people healthy, working and better able to support their families. Their services keep patients out of emergency rooms and costly inpatient stays, which can save the community more than $6 million a year.

"Working in partnership with Band Together to raise well over half a million dollars has been an edifying experience," said Anne Burke, executive director for Urban Ministries of Wake County. "We are so appreciative on behalf of our patients and the additional patients we are now able to serve in the Open Door Clinic."

"In Band Together's 10 years, we have been able to raise more than $2 million dollars for Triangle-area nonprofits," said Matt Strickland, executive director of Band Together. "We are grateful for the generosity of businesses and individuals in the Triangle. Without their support, this year's record-setting sum would not be possible."

"Thank you also to our many volunteers and the event co-chairs - Caitlin Clinard, Kelly Leonhardt-Phoenix and Jim Graves - who coordinated and managed the event," said Strickland. "We have again raised the bar and we are proud to celebrate a truly successful event for Band Together and our partner, Urban Ministries of Wake County. We look forward to next year's event and our partnership with Tammy Lynn Center for Developmental Disabilities."

Using the power of live music to impact social change in our community, Band Together raises funds from sponsorships and ticket sales to benefit a different charity partner every year. Major sponsors for 2012 include presenting sponsors S&A Cherokee, Cargill, Duke Realty, O2 Fitness, Rich and Kelly Lee, and Rex Hospital. A full list of sponsors can be found at http://www.bandtogethernc.org/sponsors.

For 2012 event photos or more information about Band Together NC, please visit http://www.bandtogethernc.org, become a fan on Facebook or follow @BandTogetherNC on Twitter. For more information about Urban Ministries, visit http://www.urbanmin.org, become a fan on Facebook or follow @UMofWakeCounty on Twitter.

About Band Together NC
Band Together NC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization composed of business and community leaders and volunteers from across the Triangle. Since its inception in 2001, the organization has donated $2,034,000 to philanthropic organizations through one mission: using live music to raise funds and awareness for local nonprofits. Band Together's annual concert event is organized and led by a team of more than 500 volunteers.

About Urban Ministries of Wake County
Urban Ministries of Wake County is a nonprofit organization that alleviates the effects of poverty in Wake County by meeting people's basic needs for food, shelter and healthcare, providing services that promote self-sufficiency and building awareness of the issues of poverty within the larger community. For the past 30 years, Urban Ministries' programs have served more than 24,000 people a year. The Urban Ministries Open Door Clinic offers primary care to uninsured, low-income adults, the majority of whom suffer from chronic illness. The Clinic provides disease management, education and prevention programs, and a state-licensed pharmacy that filled more than 49,000 prescriptions in the past year and offered more than 7,000 medical and diabetes management visits.