“Music is my mentor. It teaches me how to be me and how to continue to evolve as a loving, caring person. Because ultimately, that’s what I think it’s about, how compassionate are we, how happy & healthy are we and how can we be of service to others.”
-Miguel Atwood Ferguson
multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, music director, producer, DJ, and educator
A couple of years ago, m.a.m.a. earth was fortunate to have the incomparable composer and musician, Miguel Atwood Ferguson play for one of our fundraising events at Tikkun Spa in Santa Monica, CA. An intimate group was fortunate enough to witness Miguel play Wurlitzer piano and viola accompanied by Carlos Nino on percussion, poetry and sounds. The played a set of beautiful music as they turned an onyx resting chamber into their stage.
Miguel Atwood-Ferguson is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, music director, producer, DJ, and educator. Currently, he is raising money to finish recording his first solo album (working title: Les Jardins Mystiques) as well as a string quartet record of cinematic improvisations with his string quartet, Quartetto Fantastico. Miguel writes, “I am unbelievably excited to share the love in my heart with the world through music! I appreciate your help in bringing this dream and vision to life!” Miguel has played with just about EVERYONE! Click HERE for a more detailed bio of him.
Please take 7 minutes out of your life to watch this beautiful video (above) about the project and show your love by donating what you can – every little bit helps! – and sharing this project with your friends and family.
Here’s another mind-blowing, heart-opening clip of Miguel accompanied by a 40-piece orchestra.
Suite For Ma Dukes Orchestra- Untitled/Fantastic from Tiayrra Bradley on Vimeo.
m.a.m.a. earth founder, Jaime Kailani (left) pictured at LA Fashion Week with Cindiah Hernandez
Jaime Kailani, 1/4 of pop group, The LYLAS and founder of community org m.a.m.a. earth is so excited to be supporting annie + jade, an eco-luxury line of clothing that celebrates the fabulous with the use of natural, organic, recycled and fair trade fabrics. Designer Annie Le is a Vietnamese-American fashion designer who began her career in fashion as a young girl learning to sew by her mother’s side. Annie says, “I want to make clothing that my female friends and family members would feel comfortable and confident wearing. But just as important, I want to bring the eco-luxury element into my clothing, offering the contemporary customer a green option for day and evening luxury.”
This Saturday, 4.13.13 (4-7pm) at Station located at the W Hollywood, annie + jade will present a day of green fashion, cocktails, music by Nostalghia, environmental and social consciousness, as designer Annie La presents her fall 2013 collection, and brings awareness to “Two Wings“, a non-profit that educates and mentors at-risk youth and survivors of human trafficking* in achieving their dreams. They’ll be raffling beautiful, sustainable annie + jade tees to raise money for “Two Wings“.
RSVP for the party at rsvp.annieandjade.events@gmail.com
Learn more about annie + jade here.
Click the image to learn more about Two Wings.
*human trafficking definition: the business of helping people to enter a country illegally and forcing them to work there for very little money because they have no rights
Sponsors of the event include
Yellow Alex helped to raise money for 4mamaearth's Time to Heal Kadeisha event at The Virgil.
Since 2007, m.a.m.a. earth has been using art, music and nature to make a change for the better, locally and globally. Since we started this project, we have been blessed with a steady stream of beautiful and creative artists that are all about self-expression and sharing their talents for the good of others. We were first introduced to the phenom that is Yellow Alex from our dear friend, DJ and producer, Carlos Nino. The band was playing at Del Monte Speakeasy and when Carlos says go, you go. Needless to say, a m.a.ma.’s love for Yellow Alex was born.
It only costs $5 to get in. Yes, $5! And all of the profits from REVEAL! are donated to the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Youth Center.
“As a native Angelino,” says Alex, “I’m proud that LA is the light at the end of the tunnel for LGBT youth. A lot of gay kids barely understand the cultural roots of the discrimination they face, but they have to deal with its consequences. By simply increasing awareness of their struggles in the community, we are already helping. It’s a cause that resonates very powerfully in the local music community. The central goal of REVEAL! is to begin a dialogue of awareness and compassion between the East Hollywood dance music scene and the struggling LGBT youth on the streets outside the door. I’d love to see the party grow and become a continual fixture in the Silverlake music scene, as well as continual source of revenue for the LA Gay & Lesbian Center.”
So if you’re in LA, come party every 2nd Wednesday of the month for a good cause! For more info about REVEAL!, click HERE>>
This past weekend, resident papa of m.a.m.a. earth, Eugene Cooke participated in The Farm to School Summit in Atlanta, Georgia. The Farm to School movement connects schools and local farms in an effort to serve healthy meals in school cafeterias, improve student nutrition, and increase farm and gardening educational opportunities. This year’s Summit welcomed farmers, teachers, school nutrition staff, students, parents, and others interested in learning more about Georgia’s farm to school community. The Farm to School Summit included 16 workshops featuring experts and leaders from across Georgia, 4 dynamic field trips, a youth leaders panel featuring innovative student-led food, farm, and nutrition projects that inspired and helped further work in the community.
“The location was in biking distance from home,” said Eugene, ”so I was able to attend Friday and Saturday. It was a good opportunity to meet with growers, policy makers, health professionals and philanthropic organizations from across the state. This year’s theme was “Farm Rx”. Very fitting as the focus on health through food and soil remains a potent topic to be addressed. We discussed ways we can allow food costs to be reduced increasing access for many of the communities who are still targeted for the dumping of processed junk food. One seed dropped in many conversations laying in the dark waiting for the rain ofsupport to generate a system of education and service.”
Download Eugene’s e-book for only $8.99 HERE>>
The team at m.a.m.a. earth loves that people from all over the world are inspired by our intentions and our work. Last year, a m.a.m.a. named Maria Alexander contacted us. She lives in the UK (by way of Russia) with her husband and their two beautiful children. Maria told us she was working on a series of books called “Welcome to Planet WizZ” that teach children languages like Spanish, French, German and more. Maria graciously informed us that she wanted to give a portion of proceeds from book sales to m.a.m.a. earth.
Maria wrote, “We’ve decided to get involved with your charity because it’s close to our hearts. We love the projects that m.a.m.a. earth is supporting and we love the idea of all mamas from different cultures and different backgrounds coming together to make amends, to help change things that are not working and to make the future better for our children. We are planning to donate some of the proceeds from the book sales to m.a.m.a. earth so the money can go towards various charitable causes.”
The plan is for schools to use these books, to send the books to libraries and then going in to schools to lead Planet WizZ workshops and get students excited about learning foreign languages. Buena suerte con el libro, Maria!
Last December, a young woman put out a call to her community:
Yessy Munoz is leading the m.a.m.a. earth chapter in Chile.
“My name is Yessy Muñoz. I’m from Chile and serve as president of the official Chilean Bruno Mars fan club. As a team, we have decided to help our planet and poor people in our country. The team is collecting clothing for people living on the streets, planting trees in vulnerable sectors and cleaning up our neighborhoods. If you want to help us to make a change in minds, hearts and deeds, go to our fan page and send a message that you are interested in being part of these great projects we’ve been doing with the fan club. We’re waiting for you to help us and make a change on m.a.m.a earth…”
In partnership with the Street Team Bruno Mars Chile, they have been collecting clothes at their meetings in order to gather donations to give to churches and the poor. Although, the actual donations were given to churches in Santiago, Chile, there are a significant number of cities that have joined to help them accomplish their mision.
Recently, they delivered everything that was gathered as well as gave talks about environmental awareness and ecological hot spots in Chile. A representative of the Street Team delivered to one church and our second group visited a church called Sacred Family to donate much-needed clothing and host a Christmas event for children. The group that came together for this project is focused on bringing happiness to poor people, forgotten children and the environment. Pictured left are Alejandra and Carolina with some of the children. Photos were taken by Camila Márquez & Romina Santibañez.
We are so proud of the efforts in Chile to serve the community in m.a.m.a. earth’s name. We love to see the smiling faces in the pictures. This is what we are all about – it only takes a loving heart and a little bit of effort to do something good and make a change for the better!
When I think about what my purpose here on this earth is, a lot of things come to mind. I think of my family and friends and realize how fortunate I am to have been born into a family with a mom, a dad, sisters, brothers, grandmothers, grandfathers, aunties and uncles present. They helped teach me, they loved me and were always there to help when I needed it. I think of my children and say how lucky they are to have a stable family but then, I think again, Lucky? This is our birth right, to have a family, to be loved, to be nurtured.
m.a.m.a. earth founder, Jaime Kailani, on a previous visit to the Philippines.
When I visited the Philippines with my dad, mom, uncles and grandmother, we visited an orphanage and I realized one of our purposes here on earth. It hit me hard when I looked into the faces of these beautiful children. They were brought in to this world and then left to the world to be raised by whoever will step up. Sometimes (a lot of times) no one does. I was so overwhelmed by sadness as I sat there with my family in rooms full of family-less babies. Knowing that when I left, they would still be there waiting for someone to step up. Just wanting to be loved. Needing to be nurtured. And that’s when I realized that an important part of our existence is to share and to love. To be a big sister, big brother, mom, dad or friend to someone who needs it. To reach out and do something to make a positive difference, big or small, in their lives.
We are so excited to share the first project of the new m.a.m.a. earth chapter in the Philippines. The first Philippines chapter of m.a.m.a earth (in conjunction with Bruno Mars Philippines) recently had a gift giving party at the Mary Immaculate Children’s and Center Orphanage in the City of San Jose Del Monte Bulacan. Filipino Hooligans supported our efforts by buying specially made “m.a.m.a. earth Philippines” button pins during the Unorthodox Jukebox Album Launch that took place on December 15, 2012 at Odyssey Megamall. “Our efforts were successful because of the support of both m.a.m.a. earth and Bruno Mars Philippines,” says Alyssa Layug. ”As you can see from the smiling faces of the children, they were excited to celebrate Christmas with games, dancing, music and fun! We are very grateful for the overwhelming support and participation of our relatives, friends and to all the Filipino Hooligans.” ♥
When I look at the pictures of these young women in the Philippines, who are taking the time to love and share with these children, it inspires me. It warms my heart. It makes me happy. It shows these children that they are special, they are significant and they too have a purpose here on this earth. When we love and share, it gives the world a brighter future. –Jaime Kailani Bayot, founder, m.a.m.a. earth
Reflecting on 2012.
m.a.m.a. earth was founded in 2007 with the simple intention of making it easy for others to give and to feel the joy of giving. Our events raised money for charities inside and outside of the U.S. and all anyone had to do was show up for an amazing party with incredible live music. It was too easy to do something good – for schools in Sierra Leone, for mothers in Haiti, for veterans in Los Angeles – and too much fun to stop there. Now, looking back at the past year, we are so proud of what our collective efforts have accomplished! We’re growing into a global organization with young people in the Philippines, Chile, Brazil and Germany launching m.a.m.a. earth chapters and doing good deeds for others in their own communities.
Our mission is using the power of art, music and nature to make a change for the better, locally and globally!
Here’s a quick wrap up of what the m.a.m.a. earth team accomplished this year:
36 Fender Ukuleles for WISH Charter School!
- We facilitated the donation of 36 Fender Ukuleles to WISH Charter School‘s music program in Los Angeles.
- We facilitated the donation of 18 pairs of VANS shoes to The Wiley Center – they provide speech therapy to children with autism and special needs. Their December fundraising banquet honored grandparents who are caring for these children in the absence of their parents.
- We offered 8 Grow Where You Are! nature workshops for kids and adults all over Southern California as well as several school-wide assemblies at Aveson Charter School in Alta Dena. One class at The Learning Garden in Venice Beach, CA brought more than 40 5-year old Girl Scouts out to learn about nature and the beauty of the outdoors.
Learning how to Grow Where You Are! at The Learning Garden in Venice Beach.
- We presented 3 Live Music Charity Events with a roster of talent too long to list here. So much gratitude to Netty and Louie of TempleBar Concepts for lending The Virgil in Silverlake and The Del Monte Speakeasy in Venice to us so that we could raise money for several different projects like Project Haiti and Volunteers of America.
Yellow Alex & the Feelings helped to raise money for Time to Heal Kadeisha.
- We helped to raise $8,000 for Time to Heal Kadeisha, a mama in Los Angeles that is inspiring us on her healing journey from aggressive stage 3 breast cancer using all natural methods like juicing and high dose vitamin C treatments. Her body is responding well and her cancer markers have dropped significantly. We wish her the best!
- We continue to partner with Center for Living Peace in Irvine, CA (they’ve hosted the likes of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Queen Noor of Jordan, Jane Goodall, Charlize Theron, etc) and we present monthly Art & Creativity Workshops to folks of all ages.
Painting Gratitude Boxes with m.a.m.a. earth Founder Jaime Kailani at Center for Living Peace.
So that’s the short list! We are more than grateful for the support of so many on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, YouTube, etc. We are grateful for all the people around the world who have resonated with our work and have been inspired to pay it forward and start their own projects for orphanages and neighborhoods. We are thankful for the non-profits, public, private and charter schools that have hosted m.a.m.a. earth programs. And for all the people who show up to the m.a.m.a. earth shows and trust our impeccable taste in music! 
A message from our founder: “The photo above is just a peek into the m.a.m.a. earth family. With these hands, hearts and minds, we are able to do what we do. We aim to give, to love, to do all the things that make us happy and healthy. It doesn’t matter whether the things we do are big or small, every action helps. It could just be a smile. If we make the best of each moment, we will only be creating better moments for the future. Let us be aware of all of our brothers and sisters.”
Aloha,
Jaime Kailani
A big THANK YOU goes out to all of the folks who partnered with and supported m.a.m.a. earth this year! Here are some of them:
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Title: The Art of Astrology
Location: Center for Living Peace, Irvine – CA
Learn more/Sign up: Click here
Description: Join us for this afternoon gathering where Sonja Marie – mother, healer, astrologer, poet – will offer an “Intro to Astrology” workshop. Handouts, reference materials and games will be included with general knowledge of astrology.
Sonja will impart tools to peel away false expectations by using the intuitive art of western astrology. As it reveals choices, strengths and weaknesses on our path to self love, only then can we honestly see our inner reflections, and have the power to deeply LOVE the life we LIVE.
Snacks and refreshments provided by deliciously local OC restaurants.
About Sonja:
Sonja Marie is a healer, committed to one desire: being better than we were the day before. She has been conducting personal astrology readings since 1997. She intuitively interprets ones personality and life’s purpose with a nurturing yet no-nonsense New York approach. Sonja’s readings are intimate & life changing. She intrinsically pierces the heart with sensitivity and respect, never waivering from the truth, while carefully choosing her words. She uses the configuration of one’s natal chart – a picture of the heavens when you were born based on time, date & place of birth – to assist in the breakdown of the negative & positive aspects of one’s character.
“Astrology teaches us to look at all sides of our personality as a tool to assist us with our relationship to ourselves and those we coexist with. It reveals aspects of who we are and gives us an opportunity to be responsible for our actions in order to heal through the challenges and hardships life throws our way. The day I discovered the power of intuition & the knowledge of western astrology…I made a pact with my Creator to assist in softening the steps for others.”
Sonja is truth. Sonja is revealing. Sonja is a healer & lightworker. Sonja is humbled by her gift and eager to share it with you. We are ONE!
Find out more about Sonja Marie at WorldLifeAstrology.com.
Start Time: 13:00
Date: 2013-01-20
End Time: 15:00
Title: The Art of Sensory Experience
Location: 4139 Campus Dr., Irvine, CA 92612
Description: Explore your senses with m.a.m.a. earth founder (and big sis to pop-star Bruno
Mars) Jaime Kailani. Join us for an afternoon art project making ‘Gratitude Boxes’
filled with things we are grateful for, intentions, wishes and dreams. Then craft your
own blend of scented oils with hand-picked healing crystals inside each bottle as a
reminder to be inspired, happy and to feel beautiful. (Materials fee $15)
Start Time: 1:00
Date: 2012-12-16
End Time: 3:00
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