Music Festival Raises Thousands For Animal Rescue Groups

From the City of Milton: The final numbers are in for Milton's April 28 Rock for Rescues music festival, hosted in partnership with the Vox Artium Foundation. The inaugural music event hosted over 3,500 festival attendees, and the six-month program, including six smaller events leading up to the festival, raised more than $30,000 dollars. The net festival proceeds of $11,250 will be distributed equally among the five designated animal rescue organizations--Special Equestrians of Georgia, a Milton nonprofit; Pilots 'N Paws; Pets for Vets; Canine Cellmates; and FurKids--with donations presented the week of May 21.

"Thanks to the generosity of our event sponsors and the many micro-fundraisers, hosted by our business partners, we not only raised money, but we raised awareness of these amazing organizations and their unique missions," said Laura Jesseph, Rock for Rescues program manager.

"It was wonderful to see residents bringing their personal pets to the festival, enjoying the music, and supporting local businesses," said Milton's Community Outreach and Engagement Manager Courtney Spriggs. "Creating meaningful community connections for our residents, local businesses, and area nonprofits is a key focus for us."

The City and Vox are already planning for 2019--the event is scheduled for Saturday, April 27 with festival organizers focused on growing the event, enhancing vendor opportunities, and raising even more money for deserving animal rescue groups. While the City of Milton partners to host the event, the Vox Artium Foundation is responsible for identifying and selecting the Atlanta-based bands to showcase, and the nonprofit beneficiaries.

According to Vox, the 2018 nonprofits offered positive feedback on their participation, and were grateful for the increased awareness and community connections made from their participation in this year's event.

Those community connections were evident across all the festival participants, including the Music Matters Rock U band, who secured a follow-up performance at the Hard Rock Café-Velvet Underground, courtesy of Rock for Rescues festival headliner "a slow boat to china" who invited the all-youth band to open for their May 26 performance.

"It's been pretty amazing to see how the community as a whole has rallied around the Vox Artium mission of showcasing Atlanta's local, original music scene while benefitting the causes they care about-military veterans, and children's and animal welfare organizations," said Ray Baker, Vox Artium director.

To learn more about Rock for Rescues and how to get involved with the 2019festival, visit here or contact Courtney Spriggs at courtney.spriggs@cityofmiltonga.us or 678-242-2531.

Image courtesy of the City of Milton