You have the opportunity to help NeverShoutNever with something musicians desperately need: healthcare! ROCK FOR HEALTH is giving you the chance to sponsor your favourite band’s healthcare for one year! Maybe you’ve bought CDs, t-shirts, and travelled far and wide to see them play, but now you can do something unique and personal for Christopher Drew,  the band, and their crew!

You’re probably wondering…how can I help?! See the link below, and check out our auction. The winning fan will be improving the lives of an entire band and crew for one year. The auction starts at $360, which covers the band’s monthly healthcare fee for an entire year. Additional proceeds benefit Rock For Health, which is a registered 501c3 non-profit organization. NeverShoutNever has catered their own prize pack specific to the winner of their auction. Prizes Include:

• 1 limited edition autographed Never Shout Never skateboard
• 2 giant 24 x 17 inch autographed Never Shout Never posters
• 1 copy of the Summer EP
• 1 copy of the out of print YIPPEE EP
• 2 VIP tickets to a Never Shout Never concert (excluding NYC area shows)
• meet and greet session with the band before the show
• 1 NSN t-shirt
• a thank you phone call from the band
• autographed copy of their upcoming 2010 full length signed by the
• band (mailed to you on release date)

Rock For Health will include for the winner:
(2) Rock For Health T-shirts
(2) Rock For Health Stickers
(2) Rock For Health Wristbands
(2) Rock For Health Buttons

Because the auction prizes are time sensitive, immediate payment through PayPal is required, otherwise, early tour dates will not be eligible to the winner. Payment must clear before prizes can be received. All prizes from the band will be received at the date of the winner’s choice (excluding NYC area shows). Prizes from Rock For Health will be mailed directly to the winner. The donation is tax deductible and the winner will receive a receipt for tax purposes. 
Transportation to and from the event, as well as lodging, are the responsibility of the winner of this auction. 
If you are the winner, please include your name, phone number and email when making the payment. You will be contacted to make arrangements within one business day of payment. Thanks for reading, and happy bidding!

Music exists because of the artists creating it. Record labels exist because of the artists creating that music. The employees of record labels (everyone from the mailroom guys to the CEO) all have health insurance and benefits. Yet – these people all have jobs because of the artists. The artists see no benefits, no health insurance, nothing. Musicians are not seen as employees of a record label. They are “temps” – temporary employees – because of the record contract that they sign. They sign their career and lives over to these labels, which help develop it and help it grow. Nine times out of ten, a band will break up or cancel tours due to prevailing health issues.

ROCK FOR HEALTH is a non-profit organization that seeks to educate artists on health issues, provide necessary medical information and be an advocate for musicians in regards to health insurance coverage and long-term care. A population that is better informed about its health care coverage options will be better able to access needed care. ROCK FOR HEALTH will inform musicians on a wide variety of health issues including preventative health services, social, mental and occupational outreach. Through leadership, communication, and partnerships, ROCK FOR HEALTH is dedicated to the creation of a healthy musical environment in which artists and performers can perform at their peak physical and mental abilities. Without healthy musicians, we will not have music that is created to its highest potential. Sick artists cannot tour. ROCK FOR HEALTH wants to make their life and music healthy by helping them address health problems before they escalate into thousands of dollars worth of hospital bills.

Today, health insurance companies often consider musicians and artists an “at risk” population based on legitimate occupational health risks – road travel, hearing damage, and repetitive stress disorders. Many times, insurance companies stereotype artists because of the way that they look and the generalized idea of “sex, drugs, rock and roll.” Musicians who lack health insurance will very often delay or forgo health care until situations get desperate. At moments of crisis, they are forced to use hospitals, emergency rooms, and trauma centres to seek treatment instead of addressing health problems at a point when less expensive interventions were possible. As a result, the musician as a patient can very easily run up huge medical bills that can put them in thousands of dollars of debt, sometimes causing the band to break up.