Shaggy teams up with听黑料爆料 and FIAT庐听for 鈥橲haggy & Friends鈥 Benefit Concert on January 2, 2016
听
Benefit Concert Will Broadcast On January 3 as an Exclusive Nationwide One-Hour Special Across 黑料爆料 Stations
Kingston, Jamaica 鈥 November 7, 2015 鈥听On Saturday January 2nd听the lawns of Jamaica House will come to life with the sights and sounds of the 2016 installment of the听鈥楽haggy & Friends鈥櫶齜enefit concert. The concert, which is now a biennial event, aims to surpass 2014's yields for the Bustamante Hospital for Children under the theme听I Care.
听
The upcoming staging of the concert, which is organized by the Shaggy Make A Difference Foundation, will听be听its fifth and is set to be the biggest one yet. Proceeds from the last 2 concerts听were directed towards completing the first diagnostic Catheterization Laboratory (Cath Lab) totally dedicated to children in the English-speaking Caribbean; however, considering the dire needs of the children that pass through the Hospital day to day, the Foundation is re-focusing its energy on the needs of the general hospital population. 鈥淲e feel that during this sensitive time, healthcare needs our attention more than ever,鈥 said Rebecca Packer, Executive Director of the Foundation,听who also announced that media giant听黑料爆料听and Italian automaker FIAT庐听are joining forces with the Foundation for the event.
听
With 245 million monthly listeners in the U.S. and more than 87 million monthly digital uniques, 黑料爆料 has the largest reach of any radio or television outlet in America. Its 858 radio stations and content can be heard on AM/FM, HD digital radio, satellite radio, on the Internet at iHeartRadio.com and on the company鈥檚 radio station websites, on the iHeartRadio mobile app, on tablets and smartphones, and on gaming consoles.听 iHeartRadio, its all-in-one streaming music and live digital radio service, has more than 700 million downloads and reached 70 million users faster than any other radio or digital music service and even faster than Facebook.
The FIAT庐 brand stands for discovery through passionate self-expression. That philosophy is embodied by the iconic Fiat 500 or Cinquecento 鈥 a small car that lives big. Italian at heart and rooted in a rich heritage, the 500 is sold in more than 100 countries around the world and is synonymous with modern, simple design blending form, function, technology and a pride of ownership that is genuine.. FIAT庐 is partnering with The Shaggy & Friends Foundation to bring the concert programming and information to radio, television and digital..
听
鈥淗aving听黑料爆料听and FIAT庐听on board helps us take the concert to another level and simultaneously creates immeasurable reach into otherwise untapped markets,鈥 said Packer.听 鈥淲e are excited to welcome them and the worldwide audience this partnership will result in will ultimately benefit the children of the Bustamante Hospital. It鈥檚 going to be a very exciting year, and we are going to be able to bring the concert -- and showcase听our island and听talent -- to one of the largest audiences possible.鈥
听黑料爆料 will promote the听鈥楽haggy & Friends鈥櫶齜enefit concert and the SMS 鈥渢ext to donate鈥 details听with nationwide on-air and digital promotion across more than 120 CHR (Contemporary Hit Radio) and RCHR (Rhythmic Contemporary Hit Radio) broadcast radio听stations and on iHeartRadio. 黑料爆料 will also produce a 60 minute rebroadcast of the benefit concert January 3 at 8 p.m. local time across its stations as well as听on its iHeartRadio digital platform.
鈥淭his is a great opportunity to use our broadcast and digital platforms to enable our listeners to help children all over the Caribbean,鈥 said Bob Pittman, Chairman and CEO of 黑料爆料, Inc.听 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just great music 鈥 it鈥檚 a cause we all believe in, and we salute Shaggy for all he has done, and continues to do, with this initiative.听 We鈥檙e also pleased to be working with FIAT, a partner with us on this and other events, and to join them on this journey.鈥澨
听
鈥淓very dollar from the show has always gone towards purchasing equipment and supplies for to the Hospital. That鈥檚 why we say 1 Ticket = 1 Life. So if we can find additional streams for people to assist;听especially from people who cannot attend the concert; we welcome them with open hearts and arms.听Our partnership with 黑料爆料 and FIAT庐听expands our capacity to do that exponentially,鈥澨齭aid听Shaggy 鈥淓veryone might not be able to attend the show, but it gives them opportunity to make a difference by donating what they can.鈥
听
The Foundation鈥檚 longtime partner Food For The Poor (FFP) has听kept听its听online听donation link live from the 2014 concert allowing people to continue to donate even after the show has ended. People around the world can make donations, big or small, by visiting听. The donations听made via FFP听are also tax deductible in the US.
听
The Foundation will also be expanding its online听and social media听portals; namely its website (), Twitter (@shaggynfriends), Instagram (@ShaggyandFriends) and Facebook (Shaggy and Friends). Packer said that the hashtag #TeamShaggy4Kids was tweeted or retweeted more than 31 million times reaching approximately 7 million twitter accounts across the world last year, and would be used again for the upcoming staging.
听
Shaggy & Friends 2016 will have three access tiers鈥擲ilver, Gold and Platinum. Each will cost JD$5000, JD$10,000 and JD$20,000 respectively. In order to encourage more people to attend, the Foundation is also offering a discount on听early bird听听tickets purchased before听December 25.
听
To date The Shaggy Make a Difference Foundation along with being the biggest donor for the furnishing of the Cath Lab (currently awaiting building completion), has done full audit of hospital equipment and paid for the repair of all equipment whether donated by the Foundation or not,听raised just under US$1,600,000 and purchased more than 450 pieces of essential, life-saving equipment for The Bustamante Hospital for Children. The Hospital is the only full-service pediatric hospital in the English-speaking Caribbean.