Tegeler Music (Clinton IA) is donating the proceeds from its 3rd Annual Benefit Concert to assist service members who have been injured in the line of duty. Proceeds from the concert are being donated to the nonprofit organization Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), and will support a full range of programs and services for this generation of injured veterans and their families. To help in the fundraising efforts, Joe Arias and his son, Joey, from Max Margin Distribution – Crafter USA made a Crafter guitar signed by Alice Cooper available to be auctioned off on the final day of the event. “It is heartwarming that Joe and Crafter have stepped up to support our event in this way. These are the kind of people that really make a difference,” stated Tegeler.
More than 47,000 servicemen and women have been injured in the recent military conflicts. In addition to the physical wounds, it is estimated as many as 400,000 service members live with the invisible wounds of war, including combat-related stress, major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Another 320,000 are believed to have experienced a traumatic brain injury while on deployment. WWP’s 18 programs and services are uniquely structured to nurture the mind and body, and encourage economic empowerment and engagement.
The two-day concert was held over Labor Day weekend on Saturday, August 31 and Sunday, September 1. This year’s event showcased close to 20 area bands that all donated their time to help raise money for WWP.
The Tegeler Music Benefit Concert has a mission of supporting non-profit organizations through its fundraising efforts while, at the same time, supporting local musicians and songwriters by providing a professional concert environment to showcase their talents. In the two previous years, the concert has supported both MDA and the MS Society with proceeds for those concerts totaling close to $10,000. In its third year, the event has grown to a size that a planning committee was formed to help in organizing all the details that go into running such an event.
Also new to its third year, a new Web site (www.tmbconcert.org) was launched to help those interested in keeping track of concert updates. To quote event founder Don Tegeler, “The Wounded Warrior Project is an awesome group doing some amazing work helping our servicemen and women. We are so proud to be able to support their efforts with this year’s concert proceeds. Each year, we make the difficult decision of what organization we should help, and WWP just seemed like the perfect choice for this year’s event.”