Music & Charity
Scott is just an ordinary guy. He loves test cricket and the Wallabies, snorkelling, late night swims at the local beach pool, riding his bike on the cycleway along the same beachfront, and laughing until he cannot breath. He considers German Shepherds and Orang-utans to be the finest creatures on the planet we are lucky enough to live on.
But even ordinary guys can make a difference to this world and how we live. As a volunteer with aid organisations, Scott has dug wells and helped educate locals about the need for sanitisation amongst some of the very poorest people in the world, those in remote northern India and Nepal. He has organised fund-raising events for World Vision and their work amongst African countries; befriended refugees from several nations, taught some of them to drive and wondered if he would live, and helped them practice their use of the English language; introduced African refugees to local footballing clubs to help them make new friends in their new country; organised giving trees to get presents to local kids at Christmas who would otherwise miss out; befriended and supported Indigenous people in their efforts to see the country acknowledge our past and heal so we can move forward together. Scott is also passionate about Movember and seeing Aussie guys have the real conversations that matter with each other. He’s lost mates to suicide and hopes no-one ever has to experience that again.
One of the greatest loves in his life is the guitar. He’s had a long and varied career as a player, appearing everywhere from backyard weddings to national TV and major festivals. Music is so many things in Scott’s life, but one tenet he holds too would be that music is a powerful tool for social change.
As a musician he has donated his time to various causes; the NSW Cancer Council, Kids Wish, Autism Australia, community-based small groups helping the homeless and poor with food and friendship, organising instruments for disadvantaged kids not able to afford one on their own, and worked with young songwriters from disadvantaged areas to explore their own thoughts and produce their own music.And probably the silliest thing he has done to date is to play guitar for 125 hours straight in a world record guitar marathon challenge (that’s 5 days and 5 hours) to raise money for Musicians Making A Difference, a wonderful organisation that helps kids to make something extraordinary from their lives (which have often been heartbreaking) by offering them love, acceptance, the opportunity to express themselves though music and dance, and via their mentoring program, to get these beautiful kids to where they need to be in their lives.
That week made international news and was pretty damn cool!
To steal a line from one of his favourite bands (Directions In Groove, often called D.I.G), ‘Invest in a future, invest in each other’. And that is what this is all about. We can all make simple choices to choose kindness, to choose inclusivity, and to choose encouragement. It doesn’t have to be big, and you can be as ordinary a person as Scott is, when making such choices. Sitting with someone quietly and being a shoulder for them to lean on when they need it. Holding a hand of a friend when they need support and guidance.
Choosing to be excellent to one another (thanks Bill and Ted), no matter how small a gesture that might be. Such things can make a huge difference to someone else when they need it most. We can be the change this world needs by our actions. It doesn’t matter how many people we help. Our role might only be small in all of this, but we never know how much of an impact we can have on another’s life through simple acts of kindness, and how they will pay it forward.And our collective small acts of kindness can make a world of difference for all.‘Guitarists Do It For 125 Hours’ is simply a desire to look for ways to spread kindness through music at a grass roots level. We are still working out what this all means and how to implement such things, but we’d love you to join us, whether you play an instrument or not. And it can be as simple as following what has already been written:Be excellent to one another.
To find out what’s happening, follow ‘Guitarists Do It For 125 Hours’ on Facebook
Choose kindness, choose inclusivity, choose encouragement.
Invest in a future, invest in each other.
