1992.06.DD - Press Release - GN'R invite charities & activists to set up booths at summer stadium shows

Many thanks to @troccoli for sharing this with us, and for the amazing collection of GN'R memorabilia he has made available on his site. The original images of the press release can be found here:
http://www.troccolitm.com/PressReleaseConcerts.html

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GEFFEN RECORDS
 
GUNS N’ ROSES INVITE CHARITIES & ACTIVISTS TO SET UP BOOTHS AT SUMMER STADIUM SHOWS
 
Fifteen charitable and activist groups have been invited by Guns N’ Roses to set up booths at the band’s 24 North American stadium shows this summer.
 
What originated with the desire of lead singer W. Axl Rose to help child abuse centers has expanded to include Rock the Vote, Green Corps, National Coalition for the Homeless and another of Rose’s personal interests, chiropractic care. Organizations accepting GNR’s offer of a forum range from international environmental protection groups to local organizations offering counseling services to abused children.
 
An estimated 825,000 people will attend the shows where GNR co-headline with Metallica from July 17 through September 5. The booths are situated near the concession stands at the venues where they have the best opportunity to attract attention. Rose has also made forays at several shows to survey some of the booths and offer personal support.
 
In most instances the organizations are distributing literature about their activities, giving away merchandising in exchange for donations, and talking to concert-goers about the work they are involved with, seeking supporters to sign petitions, volunteers to help with specific projects and voter registration.
 
Represented are child abuse prevention and counseling organizations, local chiropractic education groups, The Children’s Survival Project, Inc., Rock The Vote, Rock Out Censorship, Surfrider Foundation, Amnesty International, Green Corps, The National Coalition for the Homeless, The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, The Animal Alliance of Canada, Rainforest Action Network, and the American Civil Liberties Union.
 
Following are additional details on various booths:
 
CHILD ABUSE CENTERS
 
For the past two years, three children a day have died as a result of maltreatment – the majority of them less than a year old. The cost of the consequences of child abuse to hospitals, welfare agencies and rehabilitation facilities is more than $500 million per year in the U.S. Despite growing recognition of this problem, most organizations working for the prevention of child abuse and for the care and rehabilitation of its victims are under funded. Evidence shows the effects of child abuse span every aspect of a victim’s life, from emotional to physical. The correlation between child abuse and problems such as juvenile and adult crime, teenage pregnancy, poor social adjustment and substance abuse are undeniably strong. Studies have proven an abused child is six times more likely to become an abusive parent than one that was not.
 
In each city GNR have contacted one of the local child abuse prevention and care organizations. Most will be recruiting volunteers, providing counselling for victims, accepting donations and educating people about both the detection and prevention of abuse to children.
 
THE CHILDREN’S SURVIVAL PROJECT, INC.
 
The Children’s Survival Project was founded in 1991 in response to the increasing incidence of preventable infant mortality (currently more than 112 infants per day) and the scarcity of community based health and family support services in the U.S. The Project operates on a continuing bases to support programs that: provide mobile health care for homeless and marginally housed pregnant women and children; help poor pregnant women in cities and Indian reservation areas obtain prenatal care, delivery care and parenting classes; help identify and improve nutritional needs so they may better feed themselves and the children they already have; provide child care centers, educational and employment counselling and breast feeding support for enhanced infant health; and educate the public about the conditions of the United States poor women and children.
 
The stadium booths offer an opportunity to promote awareness of their activities, receive donations and recruit local volunteers.
 
GREEN CORPS
 
Green Corps is a recently launched a post graduate field school for environmental organizers with two primary missions. As a grassroots group supporting the work of more than a dozen sponsoring organizations, they seek to augment the research, public education and lobbying efforts of the environmental movement; and as a field school for environmental organizing, they seek to train individuals who have an interest in this area as a career.
 
The stadium booths will provide information on summer jobs and careers in the environmental movement; seek signatures on campaign petitions, postcards and letters; and educate concertgoers on Green Corps.
 
THE NATIONAL COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS
 
The National Coalition for the Homeless is a federation of individuals, local service agencies and national organizations committed to the principles that homelessness must be ended and that decent, affordable housing is a fundamental right of all Americans. NCH publishes reports, operates a 24-hour information telephone hotline, engages in public presentations and workshops, assists Congressional committees legislating on issues affecting the homeless, provides practical support for local groups wanting to start up operations to help the homeless and is involved in litigation to enforce the rights of the homeless poor.
 
The stadium booths will provide information about homelessness, recruit local volunteers to the organization and obtain signatures for a campaign to register the homeless to vote.
 
ROCK THE VOTE
 
Rock the Vote is a non-profit, non partisan organization, founded by members of the recording industry to encourage 18-24 year olds to become involved in the process of democracy as a response to the relentless attacks on freedom of speech and artistic expression. The group’s goal with their booth is to promote voter registration and the act of voting to America’s youth.
 
CHIROPRACTIC EDUCATION
 
With a full-time chiropractor on the road with them, Guns N’ Roses recognize the tremendous potential of this form of medical treatment and prevention. Local chiropractors, belonging to the American Chiropractic Association, will man booths in each city to educate people about the way chiropractic works and benefits that can be derived from this form of care. They will be giving out literature, providing local contacts and giving practical demonstrations.
 
NORML
 
More than 300,000 American citizens are arrested each year for so called “marijuana crimes” at a cost of $840 million to the taxpayers. The National Organization of the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) is a nationwide organization whose objective is to develop a contemporary “drug strategy” for the United States for the 90s. Their primary areas of concern are: legalizing the use of marijuana for specific medical purposes, ie cancer and AIDS patients and those suffering from glaucoma; redefining marijuana law so personal use by adults holds no penalty’ relegalization of the cultivation of hemp, which would replace thousands of jobs being lost in the pulp industry and save innumerable acres of forest; diversion of taxes from the marijuana market into areas such as drug treatment and education programs.
 
At the stadium booths NORML will be seeking signatures for their various current petitions and to inform individuals about the organization.
 
PETA
 
People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to exposing and eliminating animal abuses. PETA uses public education, litigation, research and investigations, media campaigns, lobbying and grassroots organizing to protect all species from exploitation and cruelty. With more than 250,000 members across the U.S., PETA has come to the rescue of animals suffering in fur farms, dealer kennels, slaughterhouses, research labs, factory farms, pet shops and zoos.
 
At the stadium booths PETA will be campaigning specifically against vivisection and cosmetic testing, encouraging vegetarianism and handling out general information.
 
RAINFOREST ACTION NETWORK
 
The Rainforest Action Network (RAN) is an organization working nationally and internationally to protect the world’s tropical rainforests and their indigenous peoples. Formed in 1984, RAN’s first campaign sought to stop U.S. restaurants from purchasing beef grown in rainforest regions. Burger King, one of the first targets, responded by cancelling $35 million worth of contracts in rainforest regions. RAN uses methods of direct action, ranging from letter writing campaigns to boycotting products which destroy the rainforest and organizing demonstrations around corporations which contribute to the destruction of the world’s rainforests. The organization produces regular newsletters and journals, fact sheets, brochures and teaching packs giving details of what can be done to help.
 
The booths at the shows will give RAN the opportunity to distribute literature about their organization and its activities, which are currently focused on the Amazon and Ecuador forests.
 
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
 
Amnesty International, founded in 1961, is an independent, worldwide organization whose work centers around the conviction that governments should not deny individuals their basic human rights. The organization works specifically for: the release of prisoners of conscience – men, women and children – imprisoned for the beliefs, color, sex, ethnic origin, language or religion (provided they have neither used nor advocated violence); fair and prompt trials for all political prisoners; and end to torture and executions in all cases.
 
In 1977 Amnesty International was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to promote global observance of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Since its foundation the organization has worked on behalf of more than 25,000 prisoners around the world. Last year alone, 200 of the prisoners of conscience adopted by groups in the U.S. were released. Amnesty is using its presence at the Guns N’ Roses shows to educate people about the organization and to obtain signatures for a number of their current petitions.
 
ROCK OUT CENSORSHIP
 
Rock Out Censorship (ROC) is a fast growing national, nonprofit, grass-roots anti-censorship organization. ROC is dedicated to educating music fans across the country about censorship and campaigning to preserve the nation’s freedom in this respect. It publishes a regular newspaper and information flyers detailing what is going on in the organization, and is involved in the gathering of signatures for both national and local petitions.
 
ROC is currently petitioning against specific issues such as warning labels on music products and the explicit lyric bill.
 
SURFRIDER FOUNDATION
 
Founded in 1984, the Surfrider Foundation is a non-profit, grass-roots environmental organization dedicated to the protection and enhancement of the world’s waves and beaches through conservation, research, campaigning and education. Surfrider’s charter outlines the group’s desire to preserve the natural living and non-living diversity and ecological integrity of the coastal environment; to maintain the right of access for everyone to the world’s beaches and waves; to enhance wave-riding opportunities in ways which are not harmful to the nearshore ecosystems; and to encourage all commercial enterprises to adopt the Valdez Principles.
 
At the stadium booths – in coastal cities only – Surfrider will be handing out general information and recruiting members.
 
THE ANIMAL ALLIANCE OF CANADA
 
The Animal Alliance of Canada is an organization committed to the preservation and protection of all animals and to the promotion of a harmonious relationship between people, animals and the environment. Their areas of concern are: pound seizure, cosmetic and product testing, the mass production of pets by indiscriminate breeders, pet overpopulation, exotic pet trade, fur trade, sport hunting, factory farming and animals as “entertainment.”
 
The Animal Alliance of Canada works to bring about change through research, investigation and exposure of malpractice; education and advocacy; fundraising and legislation. This group will be participating at the Canadian concerts only.
 
ACLU
 
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a national organization with a mandate to protect the Bill of Rights and the freedoms guaranteed in it, as well as expanding the definition of human rights. The organization has brought more cases in front of the U.S. Supreme Court than any other group except the U.S. Justice Department. Currently the ACLU are defending four of the five major abortion-rights cases in the country. The ACLU has recently expanded its public education program to address the problems of justice in legislatures, city halls and on the streets.
 
The focus of the ACLU’s booths will depend largely on the issues relevant to each city, however, across the country some of their most pressing concerns are pro-choice, art censorship, police brutality and inner-city problems.
 
GREENPEACE
 
Greenpeace is a non-profit international organization dedicated to preserving the earth and the life it supports. They work to stop the threat of nuclear war and the production of nuclear weapons and materials, to protect the environment from nuclear and toxic pollution, to stop the threat of global greenhouse warming and ozone layer destruction and to halt the needless slaughter of whales, dolphins, seals and other endangered species. The Greenpeace ethic is to take nonviolent action to stop atrocities against the environment. They are also involved with organizing and mobilizing communities to demonstrate their concern over local issues; and researching, documenting and exposing scientific, financial and political roots of environmental problems.
 
In addition to providing information about Greenpeace and its activities at the stadium booths, the organizers will be campaigning against two specific issues: ozone destruction and the destruction of ancient forests.