Gee whiskers! At The Bridge’s 10th anniversary kick-off, it was reported that the name of the entertainer for The Bridge’s 10th anniversary celebration fundraiser — Impact: Celebrating 10 Years Of Homeless Recovery — at The Bomb Factory on Thursday, September 20, would be forthcoming. Well, that time has come! Talk about a “gem” of a talent.
According to The Bridge Board Chair Lynn “Energizer Bunny” McBee, the spotlight will be on Jewel, who has sold more than 30M albums.
This selection was made for good reason. According to Jewel, “We lived far from town. We had to walk 2 miles (3.2 km) just to get to the saddle barn I was raised in… No running water, no heat—we had a coal stove and an outhouse and we mainly lived off of what we could kill or can. We picked berries and made jam. We caught fish to freeze and had gardens and cattle to live on. I rode horses every day in the summer beneath the Alaskan midnight sun. I loved it there.”
But it wasn’t all John-BoyWalton-esque. Her youth ended up being akin to that of The Bridge clients. She told the SALT Conference in Las Vegas, “I was a homeless kid who was stealing. I didn’t have $40 to buy a dress, much less to get any housing… People treated me like I was contagious. They thought the homelessness might spread to them. ”
Over the years of success, she has not abandoned those living without homes and/or means. She’ll bring her battle cry to help the homeless and her songs to celebrate the mission of The Bridge on Thursday, September 20.
Sponsorships and tickets are available here.
