Tickets Now on Sale for 2011 Life is good® Festival; Fundraiser Helps Kids Face Life-Threatening Challenges

GoodBiz113 profilee Life is good® ["Life is good® Festivals Unite Communities, Help Kids Face Unfair Challenges"] is excited to announce the lineup for its 2011 Life is good Festival.

Set to take place Sept. 24-25 in Canton, Mass., a suburb of Boston, the multi-faceted fundraiser combines world-class headliners and nationally known musical talent on three stages, including several of today's most popular children's performers. This one-of-a-kind festival aims to raise $1 million to benefit the Life is good Playmakers, the action arm of the Life is good Kids Foundation.

The two-day music and fundraising festival is hosted by Life is good®, a Boston-based company that spreads the power of optimism through its colorful collection of apparel and accessories and through its social mission to help kids overcome life-threatening challenges.

The annual event will make its return to historic and picturesque Prowse Farm at the foot of the Blue Hills, just minutes from Boston. Once again, Life is good has partnered with Superfly Presents, nationally-recognized producers of the iconic Bonnaroo and Outside Lands festivals to assure a first-class festival experience for all ages.

The 2011 Life is good Festival will feature national headlining artists Ray LaMontagne, The Avett Brothers, Michael Franti and Spearhead, The Levon Helm Band, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Brandi Carlile, Martin Sexton, Raphael Saadiq, Ingrid Michaelson and The Hold Steady, as well as The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Maceo Parker, Tristan Prettyman, The Ryan Montbleau Band, Zee Avi, Dwight and Nicole, and Jenny Dee and the Deelinquents.

Kindie rock superstars Imagination Movers and The Laurie Berkner Band will headline the Good Kids Stage, alongside special kids' performances from Keller Williams and local favorite Ben Rudnick and Friends. The full talent line-up is listed below, and complete festival information can be found at www.lifeisgood.com.

While the festival features great music, an array of games and activities, diverse local food, and hands-on art projects, the goal of the weekend is to create a community of fundraisers. Each ticket buyer will be directed to a personal fundraising page that supports the Life is good Playmakers.

Festival-goers who raise funds will be rewarded with exclusive backstage hospitality, preferred concert viewing, artist meet-and-greets, plus other prizes. These fundraisers will be called VGPs -- i.e., Very Good People -- and will have a truly amazing concert experience.

Tickets for the 2011 Life is good Festival went on sale on June 16, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. Visit http://www.lifeisgood.com to purchase tickets and register to fundraise for the event. Adult single-day tickets are $65; $120 two-day tickets are also available. Tickets for children ages 2-12 are available for $20 for a single-day tickets and $35 for a two-day ticket. Children under 2 are admitted free of charge.

"The 2010 Life is good Festival set a new standard for all-ages entertainment, while raising significant funds for the Life is good Kids Foundation," said Bert Jacobs, chief executive optimist for Life is good. "In 2011, we are looking to build on this success by raising even more funds to help kids in need. We are so excited about the line-up, and look forward to everyone engaging in the fundraising effort to make this the most successful Life is good festival to date."

Life is good has raised over $6.5 million for kids in need since 2003. The Life is good Kids Foundation is a registered 501[c][3] nonprofit committed to helping children overcome life-threatening challenges, such as violence, illness, extreme poverty and natural disasters.

Its Playmakers initiative provides innovative training and support to the frontline child-care professionals dedicated to helping these children, so that all involved lead healthier, more joyful lives. To date, the Life is good Playmakers have trained more than 2,500 Playmakers across the country who have provided joyful, healing play to over 130,000 kids.

The site for the festival -- Prowse Farm in Canton -- is a historic 44-acre property managed by the Friends of Prowse Farm, a nonprofit volunteer organization. The property is located at the gateway of the Blue Hills Reservation, public parkland that has been set aside for recreational use.

Prowse Farm is fully accessible via public transportation, with all-day shuttles to and from the nearby Rte. 128/University Avenue train station. A large number of free parking spots are also available.

For more information on the Life is good Company, the Life is good Kids Foundation and the Life is good Festival, please visit www.lifeisgood.com/festivals.

About the Life is good Company
The Life is good Company, based in Boston, Mass., spreads a fresh outlook on life with its colorful collection of apparel and accessories, and through its social mission to help kids overcome life-threatening challenges. For more information on Life is good, please visit www.lifeisgood.com.

About the Life is good Kids Foundation
The Life is good Kids Foundation is an accredited 501[c][3] public charity whose mission is to help children overcome life-threatening challenges -- including violence, illness, extreme poverty and natural disasters. Through its action arm, Life is good Playmakers, it provides training and support to the adults dedicated to caring for these children, so that all involved lead healthier, more joyful lives.

More than $6.5 million has been raised to date for children in need, principally through Life is good Festivals and the 100% of profits that the Life is good Company donates to the Foundation from nationwide sales of select products. For more information, visit www.lifeisgood.com/playmakers/.

About Superfly Presents
Superfly Presents was founded in New Orleans in 1996 by Kerry Black, Rick Farman, Richard Goodstone and Jonathan Mayers. Originally set up to become the leading independent local concert promoter, they created the Superfly During JazzFest series, which is now in its 14th year.

In 2002, they co-founded and continue to produce the iconic Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. Since its inception in 2002, Bonnaroo swiftly earned its status as the country's premier music and arts event, and Rolling Stone called the festival "one of the 50 moments to change the history of rock and roll."

In 2008, Superfly co-founded the acclaimed San Francisco-based Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival.

The company has also created the Superfly Marketing Group, a boutique entertainment-marketing agency designed to complement Superfly's diverse divisions. Superfly Marketing Group leverages the company's experience, expertise and industry relationships to develop brand partnerships geared towards the passionate entertainment and lifestyle consumer.

SOURCE: Life is good®
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Sens. Kerry, Snowe Press for Fulfillment of Women’s Business Center Renewal Grants

Today, Senators John Kerry [D-Mass.] and Olympia J. Snowe [R-Maine, pictured], Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, pressed the Small Business Administration [SBA] to comply with a law to make renewal grants available to established Women’s Business Centers around the country. Kerry and Snowe secured a provision in the emergency appropriations bill signed by President Bush, in May, to ensure that a steady stream of matching funds continues to be available to the most experienced centers.

“Unless the Administration acts quickly to get funding to these Women’s Business Centers, some of them may be forced to cut key services or possibly shut down entirely,” said Kerry. “This renewal grant program will ensure our successful centers, like the Center for Women and Enterprise in Boston, remain strong so they can focus on providing women entrepreneurs with the tools they need to succeed when starting or expanding a business.”

Kerry created the Women's Business Center Sustainability Pilot Program in 1999. Since then, Congress has worked in a bipartisan way to ensure that centers with a proven track record of success continue to receive matching funding from the SBA. The renewal grant program builds on the pilot program.

“The purpose of these ongoing grants is to assure that women business owners, as the fastest growing segment of the U.S. business community, receive the technical assistance they need to expand their businesses and enter new markets without interruption,” explained Snowe. “The SBA needs to act quickly, so that successful centers throughout New England and the United States are not forced to close their doors because they lack the funding to continue providing women with the business counseling and technical assistance.”

Congress intended for the renewal grants program to be implemented immediately, to ensure centers would receive funding by October 1, 2007. Because that did not happen, the affected centers would wait another year for funding. So, in a letter to the SBA, Kerry and Snowe urged the agency to temporarily tailor its grant-making process, so that Women’s Business Centers could receive these critical grants by January 1, 2008. These centers help level the playing field for women entrepreneurs by providing technical and educational assistance.

Women-owned small businesses contribute nearly $2 trillion to our economy each year. In 2006, there were 10.4 million women-owned firms in the United States employing 12.8 million people, according to the Center for Women’s Business Research.

Following, is the text of the letter from Senator Kerry and Senator Snowe to the SBA:

August 17, 2007

The Honorable Steven Preston
Administrator
U.S. Small Business Administration
409 Third Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20416

Dear Administrator Preston:

On May 25, 2007, President Bush signed into law the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act of 2007, which contained a provision creating a renewal grant program for the Small Business Administration’s [SBA] Women’s Business Center program. This provision enabled all Women’s Business Centers, including those which have graduated or are graduating in FY 2007 from the sustainability program, to apply for 3-year renewal grants. The legislation made the renewal grant program effective immediately, and Congress intended for new renewable grants to be disbursed to those eligible graduated and graduating centers by October 1, 2007.

The fact that these funds will not be disbursed to graduated or graduating centers by October 1, 2007, will hurt women business owners who need technical assistance. Therefore, to comply with the law and to mitigate any adverse consequences for women business owners seeking assistance, the SBA must temporarily tailor and abbreviate its up-coming grant making process so that the new renewable grants are disbursed to eligible centers by January 1, 2008. [In order to keep the grant cycle consistent, the first renewable grants should be scheduled to end on the last day of FY 2010.]

Women’s Business Centers are instrumental in supporting the growth and success of women-owned businesses, and it is very important that the Agency implement the renewal grant program as soon as possible. There are nearly 10.4 million women owned firms throughout the nation, employing more than 12.8 million people, and generating $1.9 trillion in sales.

Despite their contribution to the economy and double-digit increases in women business ownership, women are still less likely than men to own businesses, and, if they do own businesses, their average size of business is smaller. Women’s Business Centers specifically target low-income women, and between 45 and 60 percent of economically disadvantaged individuals entering the program are no longer in poverty a year or two later.

In the past, Women’s Business Centers could only receive funding from the federal government for up to 10 years. This left established centers struggling for funds, from Massachusetts and Maine, to New Hampshire and New Mexico. Women’s Business Centers target low-income women and are therefore unable to charge more than nominal fees for their services. Consequently, ongoing federal funding is essential in order for these centers to continue their work with women entrepreneurs.

We urge the SBA to support the established centers and to implement the program in a way that would allow them to immediately apply for grants, so they can begin receiving grants as of January 1, 2008. Please let us know how the SBA plans to implement these changes, and how the Committee can be helpful to you and your staff in meeting these timelines.

Sincerely,

John F. Kerry
Olympia J. Snowe

Source: U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
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July 7: Life is good® Takes Fun, Fundraising Fest to Fenway

Those funmeisters at Life is good® are at it again -- this time, at Fenway Park, home of Boston's beloved Red Sox baseball team. Yep, this Saturday, July 7, 2007, the balls, discs [AKA Frisbees], peanuts, watermelon seeds and even a few T-shirts are going to fly.

New Foundation Serves Kids in Need
Since GoodBiz113 profiled Life is good® last December ["Life is good® Festivals Unite Communities, Help Kids Face Unfair Challenges"], the company has formed its Life is good® Kids Foundation, "to improve the physical, emotional and social well-being of children."

Via charitable community fundraising events held near LIG's Boston headquarters and at sites throughout the U.S., plus sales of special LIG products, the foundation supports innovative not-for-profit groups that "help strengthen joy and connection in children's lives." Special emphasis is placed on supporting underserved children and those recovering from the trauma of exposure to violence, poverty, and natural disasters.

Life is good® at Fenway: The Lineup
This Saturday, from 11 a.m to 6 p.m., Fenway Park's stands and concourses will be filled with activities, games, contests, shows and giveaways all day long for the entire family.

Among the day's activities:
* Dunk-a-Yank Tank
* World's Biggest Game of Catch
* Peanut Pitching
* Scavenger Hunts
* Dugout Photos
* Football Fling
* Magic Shows
* Bubble Gum Blowing Contests
* Face Painting
* Spin-to-Win
* Batting Cage
* Seed Spitting
* Soccer Kick
* Arts and Crafts
* Dog Bowling
* Baseball Speed Pitch
* Double Dutch
* Snaggle

Of course, lots of "ballpark food" will be on hand. Plus, family-friendly music will be performed by SteveSongs, American Idol sensation Ayla Brown, the Neil Diamond tribute band Super Diamond, and, finally, the Gin Blossoms.

Tickets for Life is good® at Fenway
Tickets are general admission: adults, $20; and kids [ages 3-12], $10. To order in advance [highly recommended!], go to: http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?organ_val=22406&agency=FENWAY2&pid=6020442.

All proceeds from Saturday's Life is good® at Fenway event benefit the Red Sox Foundation and Project Joy, two not-for-profits that "go to bat" for kids in need throughout Greater Boston.

2007 Watermelon Festival Tees
Can't get to Fenway Park, but still want to spread good vibes and help kids in need? Buy a Watermelon Festival fundraiser tee! When you do, the Life is good® Kids Foundation donates 100% of the profit to children's charities!

The shirts, adorned with a colorful and smile-inducing Watermelon Festival design, are available in men's, women's, boys', girls' and tots' sizes at Life is good®'s online store: http://www.lifeisgood.com/festivals/buy-a-festival-tee.aspx.
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