22 Jul Austin Benefit for Gulf Coast Disaster Relief

Hotel San Jose and Jo’s to Host Shrimp Boil and Music Festival Friday July 23.

All Proceeds To Benefit The Greater New Orleans Foundation Oil Spill Fund and The Gulf Restoration
Network
 
Austin, TX (June X, 2010) – Liz Lambert (Bunkhouse MGMT), Steve Wertheimer (Continental Club) and Larry McGuire (Perla’s/Lambert’s) announced today that they will host a day of food, music and education to raise awareness and money for the Gulf Coast via the Greater New Orleans Foundation Oil Spill Fund and the Gulf Restoration Network. The event will take place at the Hotel San Jose/Jo’s Coffee parking lot on Friday, July 23 from 6:00pm to 10:30pm.

The event is free to attend and will include live music by the Lost Bayou Ramblers, speakers from theEnvironmental Defense Fund and a for-purchase shrimp boil dinner by Perla’s Seafood. All proceeds will
benefit those affected by the oil spill.

“We wanted to give ourselves and the community a way to show our solidarity with our neighbors in
Louisiana” said Lambert. “We want to create an opportunity to help out. And of course, we love to get
people together for a good time.”
 
The event will be emceed by State Representative Mark Strama, a leader in alternative energy issues in
Texas. Guest speakers will include Heather Paffe, Director of the Gulf and Southeast Oceans Program for
the Environmental Defense Fund, and Brandi Clark Burton, founder of the Austin EcoNetwork. Funds raised will go to two established nonprofit organizations: the Greater New Orleans Foundation, which is one of the oldest and largest philanthropic organizations in the region to address the needs of the community and build consensus for solutions (www.gnof.org) and the Gulf Restoration Network, which is committed to uniting and empowering people to protect and restore the natural resources of the Gulf region for future generations (www.healthygulf.org). 

About the Gulf Restoration Network:

•  The Gulf Restoration Network is committed to uniting and empowering people to protect and restore the natural resources of the Gulf Region for future generations. 
•  Short term efforts: In response to the BP drilling disaster, GRN is independently monitoring the spill with flyovers, boat excursions, and independent research to prove or counter claims by BP and federal officials that everything possible is being done to clean up this spill. 
•  Long term goals: GRN will work to hold BP accountable to make impacted Gulf coast communities whole again and ensure they pay for clean up, advocate to require a Plan B to respond to accidents in the future and better regulatory oversight to prevent drilling accidents,
• and work to maintain off-shore drilling moratorium in eastern Gulf and draw attention to oil and
• gas industry role in Louisiana’s coastal wetlands loss crisis. 

 
About the Greater New Orleans Foundation’s Gulf Oil Spill Fund:

•  The ultimate goal of the Greater New Orleans Foundation is to create a resilient, sustainable, vibrant community in which individuals and families flourish and in which the special character
  of the New Orleans region and its people is preserved, celebrated, and given the means to
  develop.
• 100-percent of all donations to the Gulf Coast Oil Spill Fund go directly to organizations working
  tirelessly in the effected areas. 
• Short term efforts: the Fund has already provided a $50,000 grant to Seedco Financial Southeast
  Louisiana Fisheries Assistance Center which provides financial and job resources to area
  fishermen, and continues to financially support other local organizations doing emergency relief
  work in the area. 
• Long term goals: the fund will help address the long-term economic, environmental, cultural
  effects of the disaster, and strengthen coastal communities against future environmental
  catastrophes by investing in solutions.