Happy Holidays!

Posted by jeff

Fri Dec 18th, 2009 09:43 AM

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My wife and I are getting set to sit down and watch our favorite holiday movie, Holiday Inn. With snow on the ground and more expected later in the week, my guess is that many people's thoughts are turning away from worldly matters to family and the joys of the holiday season. So before I forget and everyone goes on vacation, I wanted to thank you all for reading and interacting with us this year as well as wish each one of our Urban Digs readers a happy holiday season. As the Counting Crows said "A long December and there's reason to believe maybe this year will be better than the last."

I don't know if anyone else has been hearing the "Redefine Christmas" communiques being played on the radio recently. If you haven't, the general message is this; during this time of economic difficulty why not consider making a charitable donation in the name of a friend or family member this year in lieu of giving a material gift that may soon be forgotten or thrown away? Seems like an excellent idea to me and it got me thinking that maybe some of our readers still had not completed all their holiday shopping.

I am on the board of a New York City-based charity called the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Foundation, which supports the operations of the Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy at NYU. Like many other charities the center is struggling with lower levels of charitable giving being experienced across the country this year. So please excuse my forwardness, but if any Urban Digs readers are grappling with the age old question "What do I get for the person who has everything, or doesn't seem to really want anything in particular?" Please consider making a donation to the Nordoff- Robbins Foundation. The center provides unique improvisational music therapy for people of all ages including children with communications and/or emotional issues. Improvisational music tailored for individuals does its particular magic in helping bring otherwise isolated children into a world of interaction. I think you will find this video compelling and heart warming.

So if you are thinking about making a donation in someone's name as a gift this year, please consider the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Foundation. Our organization is very lean and the vast majority of contributions go directly to providing services to individuals in need. No donation is too small. Contact Ruth Davis at (401) 497 - 6684. Checks can be made payable to Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Foundation. C/O Nordoff Robbins Center for Music Therapy, 82 Washington Square East, 4th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10003. Donations are tax deductible. Your recipient will receive a thank you note from the foundation commemorating your gift (no amounts will be mentioned).

Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!


The Bernstein Family