So all that is really cool, but there's even more reason to love him. Many of Dave's song lyrics hint at something bigger than himself. Hearing him singing about changing your own actions because of others in need (10,000 children) and changing the world (Brothers & Sisters), I assumed that on some level Dave Barnes 1) is living for something more, and 2) has a heart for service. Seeing him in concert for the first time, I realized that both of those assumptions are true - and probably to a bigger degree than I'd realized. In the middle of his set, Dave slowed things way down and took about 15 minutes to talk about his experiences serving in Africa (he's been 4 times) and working with Mocha Club. Mocha Club is an organization working to tie together two communities - ours and Africa - by encouraging people to give as little as $7 a month... roughly the cost of two mochas. In fact, I'm sitting at Starbucks right now and the board lists a grande mocha at $3.65... so two of those is less than a monthly membership to Mocha Club.
A musician rocking out and then all of a sudden stopping and using a chunk of his show to talk about serving and giving? And... seven dollars? To help create change? Seriously? Yeah. Here's what $7 can do:
You know, I often struggle with doing "small things" to help. It never feels like enough... and sometimes because it's so small it makes it feel like it doesn't really matter (verbalizing that makes me feel wretched). But I looked at the numbers above. And I looked at the faces in the pictures and videos on the Mocha Club website and have done my best to make them real to me and not just images.
And I try to put myself in their place (which is SO hard in our life of excess and riches.) And I realized - if I got to drink clean water for a year, or I got a quick shot that saved me from dying from Malaria - I would fiercely believe that $7 is enough to make a difference.
So I signed up. Marshall and I created a team - Orange and Blue (I know... real creative) and because of that, we each got a free Dave Barnes CD. Come to find out, Dave Barnes (as well as other musicians like Matt Wertz) has been giving away free CD's all year... for signing up to join Mocha club, for recruiting more people to join, etc. I wonder how many CD's Dave Barnes has given away in the last year that he could have profited from, but chose not to.
He's parting with serious revenue. I'm parting with a couple of cups of coffee. Coffee that I really enjoy... but still just coffee. You know, maybe it's not coffee for you. Maybe you hate coffee. If that's the case, what's your "mocha"? What do you spend $7 a month on that is nice but you could easily part with and not really miss or maybe even not notice it's gone? McDonald's? People magazine? A movie? I know that we hear these pitches all the time for hundreds of different charities. Quit ignoring them. Pick one - whether it's Mocha Club or not - and give something that you don't really need anyway. Now.
If you want to join Mocha Club, or just learn more about what they're doing in Africa, check it out at http://www.mochaclub.org/. You can join my team! (However... because I signed up on paper at the concert my team info isn't live on the website yet, so hang tight :))
And... be sure to check out Dave Barnes on his website or iTunes - a really cool musician doing cool things for the world.
"10,000 children are my invitation to change. To continue in excess suddenly feels oh so strange." - Dave Barnes, 10,000 Children
