Blind Lemon Aid Story
What is Blind Lemon Aid? BLA is the brainchild of our President, Brian Templeton. Brian is a New England based musician and co-founder of the Boston based band, The Radio Kings. He has toured with James Cotton, Sonny Rhodes, and Otis Grand and has graced the stage with countless local and national musicians. Brian, along with VP Paul Debreceni, came up with the idea to form a Non-Profit organization that would raise money for the homeless and underprivileged by producing entertaining and memorable musical events. Several years ago Brian teamed up with The Boston Blues Society and several New England based musicians for Blind Lemon Aid's first fundraiser. It was held on a Monday night in a club in Boston. The proceeds from the event went to Rosie's Place, a Boston based homeless shelter. This event got everyone involved pumped to take Blind Lemon Aid to new heights, and made us realize that we could make a difference. A board of directors was assembled and larger plans for the future were drawn.
Our last event, held at The Regent Theatre in Arlington MA on January 30th 2005, raised over $8,000 for the wonderful organization, The Friend's Of Boston Homeless (FOBH). The event was a huge success and many were impressed at the ease at which the staff and volunteers executed their first major event. Blind Lemon Aid received an award from the Mayor of Boston for our fundraising efforts for FOBH. You can view details of the event, the award and our future events on our events page.
Blind Lemon Aid's mission is to strengthen the hope of the future by helping people, promoting compassion and happiness, first and foremost for the homeless and hungry, but ultimately for all people. This will be done in many ways, but its main goals are to:
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Provide relief to the poor, the homeless, the distressed, and the underprivileged through its fundraising activities.
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Engage in other activities related to educating the public about issues concerning the poor, homeless, distressed and underprivileged.
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To help identify what particular areas and/or segments of New England communities are in need of relief with regards to poor, homeless, distressed or underprivileged individuals or families.