(CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — The MusiCares Foundation, which provides a broad range of critical assistance services to the music community, has acquired the internationally recognized Musicians' Assistance Program (MAP). The complementary organizations will join forces under the MusiCares name, and a vital fund will be maintained bearing the MAP name and supporting its long-standing mission.
"The Academy has admired the work MAP has accomplished for many years and, through our MusiCares Foundation, we have collaborated in service to thousands of music people in need," said Neil Portnow, president of the Recording Academy and MusiCares. "Now fulfilling the dreams of both organizations, we are ready and eager to join forces to maximize and focus our resources to help the greater music community and to become the charity for our industry."
"The late Buddy Arnold and his wife Carole Fields Arnold made MAP a remarkable and unique resource for the music community to get help," stated John Branca, MAP board member and partner at Ziffren, Brittenham, Branca, Fischer, Gilbert-Lurie, Stiffelman & Cook LLP. "Buddy and Carole's vision and mission will continue to live through this partnership."
"In the five years I've been with MusiCares, Buddy Arnold and I spoke numerous times about how we could accomplish our shared goals more effectively if MAP and MusiCares merged," said Harold Owens, MusiCares director of Addiction Recovery Services. "Our organizations have worked in partnership behind the scenes for many years and going forward we are publicly united for the good of music people struggling with addiction."
MusiCares, founded in 1989, and MAP, founded in 1992, are the two largest musician assistance programs in the music industry and have helped countless music makers in a wide variety of causes. MAP has helped hundreds of members of the music industry receive treatment for drug and alcohol addiction, regardless of their financial condition. MusiCares historically has assisted members of the recording community in overcoming addiction as well as provided assistance to address other financial, medical and personal crises. MusiCares, with these newly combined resources, will continue the practice of treating each client's need with the utmost integrity and confidentiality. –Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen
