'Portland Sings for Haiti' - Northwest Recording Artists Make CD for Haiti

Twenty four Northwest recording artists have donated their talents to help the survivors of the earthquake in Haiti, with a CD, called "Portland Sings for Haiti".

It is available in area stores (such as Music Millennium and others), at the Mercy Corps Action Center (28 SW First Ave, Portland) and online at CDBaby. All proceeds go to Mercy Corps.

The CD was the brain-child of two local actors, Patty Price Yates and Corey Brunish. Price, who just underwent bone marrow transplant surgery at OHSU, sent out emails from her sterile room at the hospital to her friends in the community, calling on them to do a live benefit concert. Brunish, one of the recipients of the email, thought it best to do a project with a "shelf-life." Says Brunish, "With a CD, you don't have to go to a one-night performance. You can enjoy it for years. They say it will take 10 years to rebuild Haiti. With the purchase of this CD, we can send money now and we can send money for as long as it sells. Also, this was a way for Patty to participate without risking her health." Because her immune system is compromised the recording equipment came to her.

All the artists, including the sound engineers, worked for free and Brunish adds that even the cover art was donated by a local painter, LeslieAnn Butler. "What's more, she is putting the original canvas up for sale and -- you guessed it -- all the money goes to Haiti."

Other singers on the CD include Storm Large, Susannah Mars, Rindy Ross (Quarterflash) and Julianne Johnson -- with Michael Allen Harrison. Plus 19 others.

There is a video of a group of the vocalists singing "Seasons of Love" from Rent. To see it, go to: YouTubeVideo. This video now has over 2,500 hits ---making $2,500 for Haiti aid through Mercy Corps, given by a donor who has pledged $1 per hit up to $5,000.

For more info contact on this project, contact Corey Brunish.
503 697 7716

Since $18 of every $20 used to buy the CD goes to Mercy Corps, a total of about $50,000 could go to Haiti, if all the existing copies of the CD sell. If 20 more cities did a similar CD, that would be $1M in aid!

Let's challenge ourselves - - let's enjoy some of the Northwest's finest local music and support Haiti at the same time. Let's show the survivors in Haiti that we care about them. For more on what Mercy Corps is doing in Haiti, go to Mercy Corps in Haiti.