Steven Van Zandt and TeachRock announce the “Stand With Teachers” virtual holiday fundraising event streaming on Monday, December 21 at 8:00 PM ET, with special performances from Eddie Vedder and Margo Price. The hour-long evening of music and conversation honors the dedication of educators who have helped students and families survive throughout 2020.
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In addition, Steve Buscemi, Bobby Cannavale, Whoopi Goldberg, Melle Mel, Tom Morello, Edward Norton, Vincent Pastore, Maureen Van Zandt along with Trønd Fausa Aurvåg and Steinar Sagen of Lilyhammer will make special appearances. Ticket info here.
When Van Zandt commits to a project, he’s all in. Several years ago, he established the Rock and Roll Forever Foundation and its educational arm TeachRock. When he and his band, the Disciples of Soul, hit the road for an extensive tour last year, he made sure anyone who was a teacher could come see the show at no charge. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer also met with them beforehand and discussed the importance of rock and roll and education.
TeachRock is an open-source, online curriculum which currently reaches 23,000 schools in nearly 7,000 districts representing all 50 states. TeachRock has users in 121 countries. All of the K-12 resources at TeachRock.org are available to teachers, students, and families at no cost.
Ticket prices for “Stand With Teachers” range from $25.00-$150.00 and are now available to purchase by visiting teachrock.org/standwithteachers. Ticket purchases are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.
Ticket holders will also be available to stream on-demand for three days following the pre-recorded streaming on December 21. All ticket holders are invited to stick around following the one-hour event for a special edition Renegade Nation Holiday Video Jukebox.
“Being an educator has never been easy, but 2020 posed greater challenges than any schools have ever faced. And, as usual, teachers rose to the occasion,” TeachRock founder Steven Van Zandt said in a statement. “When schools shut down overnight, teachers rallied and moved classes online. But that’s not all–like the essential workers they are, teachers continue to risk their health to serve students and families, be it to distribute tech to keep students connected, or meals to help families in need. Teachers are the plainclothes superheroes in our midst. They deserve to be heard and celebrated, and that’s why we’re going to Stand With Teachers on December 21st.”
#StandWithTeachers is a call-to-action to support TeachRock’s direct work with teachers and encourages people to support teachers and students in their local communities. The virtual fundraising event on December 21 will honor educators and for their ongoing dedication to children throughout 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the program will aim to expand online arts integration support to teachers and students forced to cope with remote learning.
“The TeachRock family is excited to join with several of the most passionate figures in music and entertainment to Stand With Teachers on December 21,” said Bill Carbone, Executive Director of the Rock and Roll Forever Foundation. “We will celebrate with a fun and uplifting evening of music and conversation, all to honor the teachers who continue to go above and beyond to meet the basic educational and human needs of America’s students during these unprecedented times.”
Anyone can join this movement to show support for teachers. TeachRock encourages everyone to record a short video clip stating, “I am (your name) and I stand with teachers because…”and to share it on social media and tag TeachRock and #StandWithTeachers and Teachrock will repost it alongside the celebrity videos as well.
Launched by Steven Van Zandt and the Founders Board of Bono, Jackson Browne, Martin Scorsese and Bruce Springsteen, the 501©3 Rock and Roll Forever Foundation has provided free, standards-aligned resources through the teachrock.org curriculum to help teachers and students succeed for more than a decade.
