ACT:S

ACT:S* to End Malaria by 2015 was a collaborative event between world vision + relevant magazine that josh got to be a part of in orlando a couple of weeks ago.  it's so exciting for me that josh gets to be a part of causes & organizations so close to my heart through his music!  where i grew up, in the jungle of peru, malaria was a huge cause of death.  & world vision is one of my favorite relief + development organizations.  here's part of an event summary from the relevant site:

But it was Garrels' performance that carried the night. An overflowing crowd packed the room to hear him play. "So often for me there’s a difference between numbers and stats and getting involved," Garrels told the audience. "This could be a beginning of a tangent in your life towards something meaningful, helping thousands of people."

Garrels, whose music explores everything from the exploitation of the poor to the joy of his faith, doesn’t try to bang people over the head with messages. He integrates subtle themes of justice and faith into his music, but mainly lets intuition and introspection generate the words. Garrels said he is excited about the developing link between artists and causes like ACT:S to End Malaria. Experiential events like this, he feels, are great for opening peoples’ eyes. "People at a college event will get stoked about an issue, and then they realize that faith is at the core," he said.

*ACT:S is the college student activism arm of world vision international