He’s driven to work in Lacrosse, Wisconsin every day without giving much thought to the scenery or people that he passes. So it was somewhat jarring for him when on a random day earlier this year he noticed something on the side of the road that he’d probably ignored a hundred times before: a homeless park.
He’s not sure why on that particular day the park caught his attention, but he found himself wondering how they ended up homeless and what outside forces brought them to the point that they felt like they had to live in tents and cardboard boxes on the side of the road. Christensen has always wanted to do more with his life – to give back in a way that would bring lasting change to a hurting world. And as the questions in his mind nagged at him underneath the soundtrack of the music blaring from his radio, a thought began to form.
What if he could put the music he loved together with a good cause that could help homeless people?
His answer: Rappin for a Reason Inc. It’s a nonprofit organization that Christensen and his friend Justin Gadouas have formed that raises money to help homeless people overcome the hardships that have brought them to their current stations in life – whether that be poverty, unemployment, mental health issues, or something else entirely. The organization solicits music from artists all over the country and creates compilation albums that are then sold to the public, with the proceeds of those albums going toward efforts to help the homeless.
The first album is complete and feature six songs from six different artists. Christensen and Gadouas put out a Facebook ad asking for submissions and received more than 150 different songs from artists all over the country. Then, with the help of a friend in the music industry, they whittled those submissions down to the six songs that they determined to be the best and added them to the album. Those songs are: “Game Plan” by Black Lion Insurgents; “The World is my Ash Tray” by Funky L; “Roll Like This” by North Side Swiss; “A Ghetto Story” by Trackz; “My Queen” by Wiza Phiri; and “Ex Internet Love” by MOF.
“I’ve always been itching for the past couple of years to do something and help out people,” Christensen said. “I thought this would be fun, and if we could put it together in the right way it would give us a chance to do something. It has come together well, and the first thing we’ll do with the proceeds is get prepaid debit cards that we can give to homeless people either in Chicago or maybe Skid Row in Los Angeles. Those places often have homeless shelters that are overwhelmed, and a lot of people are stuck on the streets in tents. If we can give them one of these prepaid cards so they can get some food or a sweatshirt or something to just get them through, I think it can do a lot of good. We believe with a hard work ethic and a giving heart, there will be a chance to give back and help homeless people across the country. With help from the rap and hip-hop community – whether you’re an artist or a fan, you can help Rappin for a Reason. It takes people to achieve big goals.”
Christensen said as the organization grows they’d like to add professional counselors who can meet with the homeless people and help them through whatever situations they’re facing that have brought them to their current situations. He also said he and Gadouas are working on a second ad on Facebook to solicit more songs for a second album – something that could happen by early next year.
To find out about purchasing the album or to learn more about the organization, please visit:
http://www.rappin.org
https://www.facebook.com/rappinforareason/
