| Description |
The Musicians Benevolent Society of Houston
(MBS) is a tax-exempt, 501c3 Texas corporation that provides
professional musicians with up to $1,000 in temporary financial
assistance for medical emergencies. Since 1990, MBS of
Houston has made gifts in the blues, classical, jazz,
Latin, rock and Texas music communities in the greater
Houston area. Assistance through May 2007 totals $67,340
impacting 182 musicians and their families. Funds are
commonly used for mortgage or rent payments, utility bills,
medical insurance deductibles, non-covered medical expenses,
special health needs and medical equipment rentals, prescription
medicines, doctors’ bills, end-of-life care, and
funeral expenses.
Referrals are by word of mouth, and all transactions
are held in confidence to protect the recipient’s
privacy. Gifts are usually one time and non-recurring.
To ensure accountability for use of the funds, bank draft
checks are made out in the name of a payee or service
provider. Cash gifts are prohibited.
Yearly assistance for Houston-area musicians totaled
$2,375 in 2007, $2,250 in 2006, and $4,075 in 2005.
From September ‘05 to July ‘06, MBS of Houston
served as legal and fiduciary agent for the New Orleans
and Houston (NOAH) committee, a local, all-volunteer,
unincorporated, grassroots movement. Donations from across
the USA enabled the purchase of $33,000 in new and used
instruments for 19 musicians displaced by Hurricane Katrina
and temporarily living in Houston.
In 2004, MBS partnered with the Screen Actors Guild and
the Society of Singers in Los Angeles in awarding funds
to a Houston musician. As a result, MBS is now listed
as a member of the national Entertainment Assistance Cooperative,
an industry collaborative for care givers of musicians.
MBS of Houston is an all-volunteer organization governed
by 12 directors and Honorary Board Chair, the late Rory
Miggins. Support comes from individual, corporate, and
special event donations of cash ranging from $10 to $5,000,
and in-kind corporate support as high as $5,000.
Correspondence and tax-deductible gifts to MBS are accepted
at:
Musicians Benevolent Society of Houston
PO Box 66253; Houston TX 77266-6253
Questions and referrals for assistance may be directed
to Steve Sucher, co-founder and secretary, at 713-221-8288.
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