Inspired by my friend Matt Allen ICE CREAM MAN van, where sponsors and ice cream companies pay him to give away their product at music festivals, I want to raise more than enough money for a Brain Aid / SoBear BRAIN AID FEST PRESENTS: SOBEAR SOBER BAR ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. My Sober Summer 2019 was a conscious choice to no longer seek out drunkenness as a way to cope with life. I also decided I didn't want to reduce the efficacy of my antidepressant and mood stabilizer. I met Matt with my ex-wife Sabrina at Miami's Artbasel Miami festival in 2007ish. We attended a Panda Bear concert, and Matt brought us and others joy with ice cream. His presence there benefited the concert, the festival, the artists and the ice cream companies. Similarly, I want to offer myself in a similar way. Imagine this: While entering a concert or festival, you see the Brain Aid/Sobear van in front. You ask what it's all about. I offer you a free alcohol-free beverage, Brain Aid swag & mental health pamphlets and brochures in exchange for your email address. The venue throws in a coupon for $1 off an alcohol-free beverage. You’ll be more sober entering and leaving the show, and reminded that no mental health issue is hopeless. WIN/WIN/WIN! I drink 90-99% less than I used to. My only absolute is "No Absolutes". But I have many friends whom I adore who are sober for life. And I am so proud of them. I won't be preachy. I'll just say "Hydrate & Enjoy!". Here are some links about Ice Cream Man. I hope that Matt is honored that I want to build something out of his idea, just as I hope those involved with Live Aid & Farm Aid feel the same about Brain Aid: www.icecreamman.com/about/ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_Cream_Man_(business) consequenceofsound.net/2010/09/living-the-dream-with-matt-allen-aka-ice-cream-man/ From Wikipedia: “Ice Cream Man is a business entity that gave away 500,000 free units of ice cream since its founding in 2004. In the process the organization became a fixture at music festivals across the United States. Ice Cream Man has had over 100 volunteers committed to the idea of free ice cream for all. Ice Cream Man was founded by Matt Allen (aka Ice Cream Man), a resident of Long Beach, California. In the summer of 2004 Allen purchased a 1969 Chevrolet Step-Van in order to work as an ice cream man in Ashland, Oregon. At the end of the summer he decided to give away the leftover inventory to Ashland residents in the venue of an ice cream social at Garfield Park. The novelty of free ice cream garnered the attention of local news media and inspired Allen to base a startup project on the idea. Ice Cream Man gained major media exposure when it was granted backstage access at the main stage of Lollapalooza 2006. Soon after, Ice Cream Man began receiving interview requests and attention from future sponsors. Since 2006, Ice Cream Man has been a backstage fixture at almost every US rock music festival including Lollapalooza, Sasquatch! Music Festival, Bonnaroo, Pitchfork Music Festival, ATP, Austin City Limits, SXSW, and Outside Lands Music Festival. Ice Cream Man’s business model is based on mutual exposure and advertisement. In exchange for funding of its operations, Ice Cream Man attempts to increase word-of-mouth promotion and build a popular association between its sponsors, free ice cream and the experience of music events. In this way, Allen states, Ice Cream Man is trying to establish a foothold in what he believes is a growing experience economy. The foremost example of Ice Cream Man’s business model is its use of two Yaris hatchbacks from Toyota as ice cream delivery vehicles for the 2009 summer season. I also dream of taking Cosmo for rides again. My dog Cosmo is my BFF for sure: instagram.com/cosmoaroundtown ruclips.net/video/styg-V-geV8/видео.html ruclips.net/video/U4k_t4QuPVc/видео.html. Cosmo has probably saved my life several times. I’m fortunate that I don’t drink when I’m depressed. I sleep. My bed is my safe space. I’m friends with alcoholics, and I know that their struggle with booze is different than mine. I’m blessed to not have addiction in my DNA. But I want to do better at making more and more healthy decisions every day. Sobear is an idea that will someday need a business license and a storefront. But this summer, I would like to drive to music concerts and festivals and just give away water and other non-alcoholic drinks along with pamphlets from Brain Aid and other mental health/brain health organizations. I think that having a tangible piece of paper with tips & info on your bedside table may not mean much to someone today. But it might change the course of their thinking in a month or a year or more. Or the information could be life-saving for a friend or family member. This idea goes along with my goal of everyone seeing a positive mental health ad or message every day without trying. The last part is vital. When I conceived of Brain Aid, while Depressed in Detroit, I knew where I could find self care tips online. But when my Baby Yoda is heavy, he adds to my fatigue, which I already have from Crohn’s Disease. It’s a heavy, burdensome fatigue that makes lifting a finger difficult, much less getting out of bed. Here are some more links. You’re Welcome! brainaidfest.org twitter.com/brainaidfest instagram.com/brainaidfest tinyurl.com/brainaidfesttv tinyurl.com/brainaid101 I want to drive the Brain Aid/Sobear van to SXSW 2020 next month, then to spring & summer music festivals. And to mental health conferences. This is my dream. The funny thing about dreams is they sometimes come true. But only through #grit and #hardwork. Brain Aid concerts in September & October will be in Athens, Atlanta, Miami, Nashville, Detroit, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, L.A., Austin, NYC, DC, Boston, Philly, Ohio, Indiana and more. I just have to inspire people in those cities to put in the weekly work to curate and organize a unique event. Then 2021! I am seeking: $1,000 for Cosmo’s healthcare $1,000 for my own healthcare $1,000 per week for my salary $5,000 per week for my first 5 hires $20,000+ for Brain Aid T-shirts & stickers $40,000 for an upgraded van: www.ford.com/commercial-trucks/transit-cargo-van/models/transit-van/ $500 per week for gas money $3,000 for cell phone service and a new laptop computer $10,000+ for a publicist $50-100+ a day for lodging on the road (or a Motel 6 sponsorship? #!) $1,000+ a month for storage as I live on the road until I.....don’t. # Please consider donating and sharing this far & wide if you believe in me. Please send 1 cent or more (I want as many donors as Bernie Sanders) by: GOFUNDME! The Send or Request Money part of the @Facebook App The donation button at brainaidfest.org PayPal to brainaidfest@gmail.com Venmo to @Stephen-Cramer-15 (Use -4111 as my phone number’s last 4 digits if asked) All donors who give $25+ by the end of the year will receive a Brain t-shirt by the end of the year. You known howto find me if you haven't received your shirt by January 2021. Please include your name, snail mail address, email address and preferred shirt size. Also, if you have donated to Brain Aid or The Detroit Fest in the past, please comment below and email details to brainaidfest@gmail.com. I haven’t always been super organized, which is why I need to hire an assistant first. I still want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. In your preferred t-shirt size! All donors of ANY amount (even a penny!) will receive a bi-weekly Brain Aid/SoBear email update starting in March 2020. Thank You, Friend, for Sharing & Caring. And for helping to color my life for 46 years. Sorry for coloring outside of the lines. NOT! Major Depression robs you of optimism. Thankfully, Elaine Cramer gave me an endless supply of optimism. If Mom had been different, I might have died on any day of the past 7 years. Or 46 years. Thank goodness she was *exactly* who she was. My mental health hero. On February 10, 1974. And every day since. Have a superb day. I love you. Thank you for reading & Thank You for being part of my life. Stephen Ernest Cramer Brain Fest Inc. Founder & Executive Director tinyurl.com/brainaid101
Inspired by my friend Matt Allen ICE CREAM MAN van, where sponsors and ice cream companies pay him to give away their product at music festivals, I want to raise more than enough money for a Brain Aid / SoBear BRAIN AID FEST PRESENTS: SOBEAR SOBER BAR ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. My Sober Summer 2019 was a conscious choice to no longer seek out drunkenness as a way to cope with life. I also decided I didn't want to reduce the efficacy of my antidepressant and mood stabilizer. I met Matt with my ex-wife Sabrina at Miami's Artbasel Miami festival in 2007ish. We attended a Panda Bear concert, and Matt brought us and others joy with ice cream. His presence there benefited the concert, the festival, the artists and the ice cream companies. Similarly, I want to offer myself in a similar way.
Imagine this: While entering a concert or festival, you see the Brain Aid/Sobear van in front. You ask what it's all about. I offer you a free alcohol-free beverage, Brain Aid swag & mental health pamphlets and brochures in exchange for your email address. The venue throws in a coupon for $1 off an alcohol-free beverage. You’ll be more sober entering and leaving the show, and reminded that no mental health issue is hopeless. WIN/WIN/WIN! I drink 90-99% less than I used to. My only absolute is "No Absolutes". But I have many friends whom I adore who are sober for life. And I am so proud of them. I won't be preachy. I'll just say "Hydrate & Enjoy!".
Here are some links about Ice Cream Man. I hope that Matt is honored that I want to build something out of his idea, just as I hope those involved with Live Aid & Farm Aid feel the same about Brain Aid:
www.icecreamman.com/about/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_Cream_Man_(business)
consequenceofsound.net/2010/09/living-the-dream-with-matt-allen-aka-ice-cream-man/
From Wikipedia:
“Ice Cream Man is a business entity that gave away 500,000 free units of ice cream since its founding in 2004. In the process the organization became a fixture at music festivals across the United States. Ice Cream Man has had over 100 volunteers committed to the idea of free ice cream for all. Ice Cream Man was founded by Matt Allen (aka Ice Cream Man), a resident of Long Beach, California. In the summer of 2004 Allen purchased a 1969 Chevrolet Step-Van in order to work as an ice cream man in Ashland, Oregon. At the end of the summer he decided to give away the leftover inventory to Ashland residents in the venue of an ice cream social at Garfield Park. The novelty of free ice cream garnered the attention of local news media and inspired Allen to base a startup project on the idea. Ice Cream Man gained major media exposure when it was granted backstage access at the main stage of Lollapalooza 2006. Soon after, Ice Cream Man began receiving interview requests and attention from future sponsors. Since 2006, Ice Cream Man has been a backstage fixture at almost every US rock music festival including Lollapalooza, Sasquatch! Music Festival, Bonnaroo, Pitchfork Music Festival, ATP, Austin City Limits, SXSW, and Outside Lands Music Festival. Ice Cream Man’s business model is based on mutual exposure and advertisement. In exchange for funding of its operations, Ice Cream Man attempts to increase word-of-mouth promotion and build a popular association between its sponsors, free ice cream and the experience of music events. In this way, Allen states, Ice Cream Man is trying to establish a foothold in what he believes is a growing experience economy. The foremost example of Ice Cream Man’s business model is its use of two Yaris hatchbacks from Toyota as ice cream delivery vehicles for the 2009 summer season.
I also dream of taking Cosmo for rides again. My dog Cosmo is my BFF for sure:
instagram.com/cosmoaroundtown
ruclips.net/video/styg-V-geV8/видео.html
ruclips.net/video/U4k_t4QuPVc/видео.html.
Cosmo has probably saved my life several times.
I’m fortunate that I don’t drink when I’m depressed. I sleep. My bed is my safe space. I’m friends with alcoholics, and I know that their struggle with booze is different than mine. I’m blessed to not have addiction in my DNA. But I want to do better at making more and more healthy decisions every day. Sobear is an idea that will someday need a business license and a storefront. But this summer, I would like to drive to music concerts and festivals and just give away water and other non-alcoholic drinks along with pamphlets from Brain Aid and other mental health/brain health organizations. I think that having a tangible piece of paper with tips & info on your bedside table may not mean much to someone today. But it might change the course of their thinking in a month or a year or more. Or the information could be life-saving for a friend or family member. This idea goes along with my goal of everyone seeing a positive mental health ad or message every day without trying. The last part is vital. When I conceived of Brain Aid, while Depressed in Detroit, I knew where I could find self care tips online. But when my Baby Yoda is heavy, he adds to my fatigue, which I already have from Crohn’s Disease. It’s a heavy, burdensome fatigue that makes lifting a finger difficult, much less getting out of bed.
Here are some more links. You’re Welcome!
brainaidfest.org
twitter.com/brainaidfest
instagram.com/brainaidfest
tinyurl.com/brainaidfesttv
tinyurl.com/brainaid101
I want to drive the Brain Aid/Sobear van to SXSW 2020 next month, then to spring & summer music festivals. And to mental health conferences. This is my dream. The funny thing about dreams is they sometimes come true. But only through #grit and #hardwork.
Brain Aid concerts in September & October will be in Athens, Atlanta, Miami, Nashville, Detroit, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, L.A., Austin, NYC, DC, Boston, Philly, Ohio, Indiana and more. I just have to inspire people in those cities to put in the weekly work to curate and organize a unique event. Then 2021!
I am seeking:
$1,000 for Cosmo’s healthcare
$1,000 for my own healthcare
$1,000 per week for my salary
$5,000 per week for my first 5 hires
$20,000+ for Brain Aid T-shirts & stickers
$40,000 for an upgraded van: www.ford.com/commercial-trucks/transit-cargo-van/models/transit-van/
$500 per week for gas money
$3,000 for cell phone service and a new laptop computer
$10,000+ for a publicist
$50-100+ a day for lodging on the road (or a Motel 6 sponsorship? #!)
$1,000+ a month for storage as I live on the road until I.....don’t. #
Please consider donating and sharing this far & wide if you believe in me.
Please send 1 cent or more (I want as many donors as Bernie Sanders) by:
GOFUNDME!
The Send or Request Money part of the @Facebook App
The donation button at brainaidfest.org
PayPal to brainaidfest@gmail.com
Venmo to @Stephen-Cramer-15 (Use -4111 as my phone number’s last 4 digits if asked)
All donors who give $25+ by the end of the year will receive a Brain t-shirt by the end of the year. You known howto find me if you haven't received your shirt by January 2021. Please include your name, snail mail address, email address and preferred shirt size. Also, if you have donated to Brain Aid or The Detroit Fest in the past, please comment below and email details to brainaidfest@gmail.com. I haven’t always been super organized, which is why I need to hire an assistant first. I still want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. In your preferred t-shirt size!
All donors of ANY amount (even a penny!) will receive a bi-weekly Brain Aid/SoBear email update starting in March 2020.
Thank You, Friend, for Sharing & Caring. And for helping to color my life for 46 years. Sorry for coloring outside of the lines. NOT!
Major Depression robs you of optimism. Thankfully, Elaine Cramer gave me an endless supply of optimism. If Mom had been different, I might have died on any day of the past 7 years. Or 46 years. Thank goodness she was *exactly* who she was. My mental health hero. On February 10, 1974. And every day since. Have a superb day. I love you. Thank you for reading & Thank You for being part of my life.
Stephen Ernest Cramer
Brain Fest Inc.
Founder & Executive Director
tinyurl.com/brainaid101
gf.me/u/xj722j