MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN 2011

2011 Recap

Three quarters of a million dollars.  To be exact, $756,000.  That’s what the Kid Rock Foundation distributed to charities, community groups and schools in 2011 … organizations making a difference in the lives of so many of our friends and families, neighbors and strangers alike in cities and towns across the country. 

Indeed, we’re able to continue our mission thanks to the generosity and support of our fans, and contributions from small businesses and large companies throughout the country.  In fact, the Foundation collected $1.36 million dollars last year (our administrative costs, by the way, are less than 1%).     

And as proud as we are of what we’ve accomplished, we remain steadfast in 2012 to our commitment to raising even more funds and awareness for the good works – and good people – found across America.  

2011 Highlights

During a concert at Detroit’s Ford Field in January, Kid Rock received the Spirit of Detroit Award, an honor presented by the Detroit City Council to a person, event or organization for outstanding achievement or service to the citizens of Detroit.  

Also at the Ford Field concert, Kid Rock announced a $25,000 donation each to Detroit-based COTS (Coalition on Temporary Shelter); Detroit’s Capuchin Soup Kitchen; Pontiac, Michigan-based HAVEN, a shelter for victims of domestic violence; and Rochester, Michigan-based Rainbow Connection, an organization dedicated to fulfilling wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses.     

In April Kid Rock made a surprise visit to his alma mater, Romeo High School, to present the school’s music program with a $5000 donation on behalf the GRAMMY Foundation and Best Buy.  Kid Rock also made a personal matching donation of $5000 during the presentation.  

On May 1, the Detroit branch of the NAACP presented Kid Rock with its Great Expectations Award during its annual Fight For Freedom fundraising dinner.  The honor recognized his promotion of Detroit and support of its citizens.  While accepting the award Kid Rock made a $100,000 donation to be divided equally among the Detroit Recreation Department, Detroit’s Friends of Belle Isle, Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit, YouthVille Detroit, and Habitat for Humanity, as well as the American Red Cross to aid in its efforts of assisting those communities throughout the South devastated by tornadoes in April.

In July, while performing at the Red Sky Music Festival in Omaha, Nebraska, Kid Rock announced the foundation donated $10,000 to the Nebraska-Southwest Iowa Region of the American Red Cross to support disaster assistance related to Missouri River flooding.  

During its annual Partners Night charity gala, Detroit’s Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in September honored Kid Rock, and the Kid Rock Foundation, for his dedication to the community, as well as for helping raise funds for the Institute via the sale of specially designed Made in Detroit T-shirts throughout October – breast cancer awareness month.  The pink shirts feature the iconic “Rosie the Riveter” sporting a pink ribbon tattoo and Made in Detroit pin with the memorable phrase “We Ca Do It!”  Underneath the graphic is the charge, “Let’s go to work to find a cure.”   

Since the Partners inception almost two decades ago, it has raised $13 million dollars to support the Institute’s cancer research; last year’s event raised just under $700,000.

Also in September, Detroit’s Old Newsboys’ Goodfellow Fund recognized Kid Rock and the Kid Rock Foundation with its Edward H. McNamara Goodfellow Of The Year award, presented annually to noteworthy individuals who have significantly contributed to the community.  Founded in 1914, the Detroit Goodfellows is the country’s original and oldest Goodfellows organization whose mission is to provide tens of thousands of holiday gift packages for needy children in Detroit and nearby cities, offer emergency dental care for children, sends hundreds of children to camp each summer, and award scholarships through Wayne State University in Detroit.

And throughout November and December, Kid Rock’s club tour visited 13 cities across the country.  Unlike the 2010 Born Free tour that saw Kid Rock play some of the country’s largest venues, the shows were performed in clubs and small theaters including the Beacon in New York; the Egyptian Room in Indianapolis; The Great Saltair in Magna, Utah; the Knitting Factory in Spokane, Washington; and Center Stage in Atlanta.  

During the tour, which coincided with the release of his new single “Care” from his critically-acclaimed, platinum-selling 2010 “Born Free” album, Kid Rock, through the Kid Rock Foundation and with the support of Detroit-based corporate and individual donors, gave $385,000 to charities in each city, from the Georgia Veterans Day Parade in Atlanta to Covenant House in New York, from Make-A-Wish Foundation in Indianapolis to Second Harvest Food Bank in Spokane, Washington.  

The idea was to demonstrate that, while experiencing their own difficulties, Detroit’s business and civic communities rallied and helped causes across the country.  

As Kid Rock so often says, “At the end of the day we’re all Detroit, we’re one country, we’re one family.”