Thanks For The Music

We've got to admit it's a scary time, with health-care workers laying it on the line to help COVID-19 patients survive the pandemic. None of us knows who's carrying the virus without symptoms, and none of us can be sure that we, our friends or loved ones won't catch this virus.

Obviously, the situation is complicated because the best tool to keep the virus from spreading too quickly is "social distancing," and that has brought our economy to a screeching halt.

As a member of the AMEHOF community, you're already well aware that - with live music and entertainment shut down - working musicians, technical workers, stagehands, bartenders, waitresses and many more have been forced to stop working. No one knows when they'll be able to work again.

We at AMEHOF are concerned about it. We're a small organization with limited resources, so the best way for AMEHOF to help is to get the word out about ways to do that.

1. For artists and musicians: Arizona has some aid available. "Arizona arts funders and service organizations have set up a collaborative fund to provide emergency relief grants of $500-$1,500 to artists and arts professionals experiencing cancelled events and residencies or terminated contracts due to the ... pandemic." For more information, visit the Arizona Commission on the Arts' website.

2. AMEHOF's Facebook page: We invite musicians and entertainers and anyone who makes a living from supporting entertainment events to direct message us (via our Facebook page) to tell their story and let our community of supporters know how they can help. See our post here.

3. Make donations to help: If you wish to donate to the Emergency Relief Fund for Arizona Artists and Arts Professionals, click here.

4. We don't know what we don't know: We're certain that there are other resources out there to help the people who have made our lives richer with their creativity and talent. So please, if you know of any resource that seems relevant to AMEHOF's inductees, supporters and friends, please send email to Sal Caputo, AMEHOF's publicity chairman. We'll make sure that relevant info gets up on our Facebook page quickly.

Finally, you may be wondering what AMEHOF's plans are in the near future. We are working on plans to launch a new round of nominations for induction in the coming months. As soon as we've developed the plans, we'll share them on our Facebook page, our website and via the AMEHOF Newsletter. - AMEHOF Board of Directors