Aid Still Required
When Hunter and Andrea produced a CD compilation to benefit tsunami victims little did they know it would turn into their life’s work and the founding of Aid Still Required.
It all began in the days following the tsunami in December 2004. They were devastated by the stories they were hearing. It was quite incomprehensible: Hundreds of thousands had been killed and millions were suddenly homeless and without food..
They had friends who were vacationing in Phuket, Thailand when the tsunami hit. Andrea had spent the holidays there with them several years before so knew where the beaches were and that there was a strong possibility that they or their children could be in danger. The Payne's were on tenterhooks for four days before an email arrived saying their friends were fine.. As it turned out they and other hotel residents had commandeered hotel vans, bought up food and supplies, and were driving around the island delivering aid.
From there both Andrea and Hunter got very inspired, but wondered what they could do, other than writing a check, from ten thousand miles away that would make a difference.
Hunter was thinking of marketing his new record "Nailed" as a charitable CD. Lightbulb! Andrea suggested he put together a CD compilation with songs donated by many of their talented indie-music friends.
And then Hunter got to thinking, “If I were Sting or Paul McCartney or somebody else famous, maybe I'd want to donate a song.......” Then we could raise $100K for the tsunami survivors.”
And it just got more and more magical. Nearly every artist they contacted said yes and nearly every one of their record labels agreed as well (a minor miracle in the music industry!). Five months later they had tracks donated by 16 major artists, including Paul McCartney, John Lennon (estate), Eric Clapton, and Alanis Morissette.
Hunter and Andrea soon realized that the name their colleague Mikee had given them for the tsunami CD - Aid Still Required – also described their mission - to bring awareness to forgotten issues and to support sustainable projects in the field to restore lives in those regions.
As a result, they founded Aid Still Required on these principles:
- They believe everyone, everywhere is entitled to live in dignity health and peace,
- Just because an issue left the headlines, doesn’t mean it’s left the planet,
- Disasters and crises offer opportunities to build back better and build back green,
- There is great power in grassroots movements to transform life.
Over the years they’ve learned that they have no idea what impact our sharing can have on another person or what the person we’re sharing with may wish to contribute in any number of creative ways. They’ve learned that hearing people's concerns and being persistent do matter! They’ve learned that “No” doesn't always mean "No," it can mean "Not right now.”
Most importantly, they’ve experienced first-hand the power of an individual to make a difference, and the power and strength of our communities. Every day we see first-hand people’s desire to be generous and to make a contribution to others. This continues to continually inspire Hunter and Andrea.
Other projects, which Aid Still Required are involved in are Darfur, HAITI, Katrina and Tsunami
