Surfer's Benefit for Chile

At Brushfire Records in Los Angeles.

White Buffalo, his voice, and his guitar.

Last Friday, March 26 was a surfer's benefit for Chile at Brushfire Records: the evening was an impromptu and intimate gathering of friends, surfers, artists and musicians coming together to raise funds and solidarity for victims of the recent massive earthquake and tsunami in Chile. Local surfers and fishermen in Chile who've always lived the simplest of lives are among the hardest hit and in need of help.

Brushfire Records graciously hosted the evening at their Los Angeles studios with musicians Jackson Browne, Jon Swift, White Buffalo, Andrew Bird and the Los Angeles alt-rock band Dawes. Surfer filmmaker Chris Malloy was the master of ceremonies. The artists performed heart-felt acoustic and electric sets for a tiny sold-out crowd inside Brushfire's recording studio with the onlookers spilling out into the studio backyard. The evening also featured an auction of art, photos and other donated items from surfing luminaries Jack Johnson, Kelly Slater, Thomas Campbell, Wolfgang Bloch, Shepherd Fairey and others.

LA rockers Dawes.

Surfer and filmmaker Chris Malloy summed up the community's feelings perfectly at the event: "My entire family and I forever hold priceless memories of great times with our generous friends in Chile. The least we can do is give back to this place and its warm people who have given us so much."

A tremendous time was had by all at Brushfire, many empanadas were eaten, some tears were shed for our Chilean hermanos and over $10,000 was raised for Save The Waves Coalition's ongoing Chile relief effort. Learn more and support the movement at www.savethewaves.org

Save The Waves extends a special thanks to the entire Malloy clan - Chris, Keith, Dan, Carla, Pearl & Emmett (plus their significant others), Brushfire Records, and all of the musicians for their support.

Folk rock legend Andrew Bird sang & whistled, plucked his violin, and rocked out solo and with Jackson Browne.

Jackson Browne played a 45-minute acoustic set.

Friends of Chile unite!

Chris Malloy, Greg Long, Jackson Browne, Dawes, Andrew Bird... the list of legends in this photo is too long to finish!

All photos this post by Jason Murray and Save The Waves.

Chile Relief Update - March 17, 2010 (archived):

Save The Waves distributes one thousand water filters to coastal Chile, works with Paul Walker/REACT Worldwide to provide medical relief

March 17, 2010 Pichilemu/Curanipe, Chile – Save The Waves Coalition, operating though a passionate volunteer ground team led by professional surfers Ramon Navarro, Greg Long and Kohl Christensen, completed the first phase of its Chile relief efforts by distributing nearly 1,000 water filters along with other essential supplies to coastal Chile. The water filters, provided by partner nonprofit Waves for Water, are now providing clean drinking water for up to 10,000 Chileans, many of who live in remote coastal areas and were cut off from clean water in the wake of the 8.8-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami on February 27, 2010.

Through national press recognition of the “surfers without surfboards who distribute water filters,” all of Chile is aware of the organization’s relief efforts, and the heartfelt appreciation has been overwhelming. The recognition led to an invitation this week to the home of the US Ambassador to Chile, Paul Simons, to discuss Save The Waves’ relief operations in Chile in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami.

“The spontaneous relief efforts by the surfing and coastal communities have been amazing,” said Save The Waves executive director Dean LaTourrette. “I’m proud that we were all able to come together so quickly and accomplish as much as we have to help the Chilean people, and that Save The Waves was in a position to help coordinate this tremendous volunteer effort. There’s still a lot that needs to be done though, and the international surf community will need to continue to lead the way.”

While Greg Long and crew were operating out of Pichilemu to the north, Save The Waves environmental director Josh Berry has been based further south in the Curanipe region, working alongside actor Paul Walker (The Fast and the Furious) and his REACT Worldwide team of doctors and medics, an organization that was founded by Walker. “The Save The Waves–REACT effort was an incredibly inspiring teamwork experience that combined Save The Waves’ years of field experience in Chile with REACT’s medical knowledge, fearlessness and energy for disaster relief,” said Berry. “Paul threw himself into the thick of the heaviest situations with passion and intelligence. The chemistry between the organizations was immediate and we’ll definitely be working together again.”

The distribution of the water filters marks the completion of phase one of the relief efforts, which were primarily focused on getting clean drinking water to those who were cut off in coastal areas. Save The Waves’ phase-two work will begin shortly, focusing on helping coastal communities in Chile’s Regions VI and VII rebuild and restore economic activity, including potentially fishing, surf tourism, and other businesses.

Chile Relief Update: March 5, 2010

CHILE EARTHQUAKE RELIEF UPDATE - 3/5/10 (archived): The primary focus of Save The Waves' initial relief mission is to help provide clean drinking water to the hundreds of thousands of Chileans who are currently without water. Save The Waves is partnering with Waves for Water to distribute water filters for clean drinking water, and currently has 1,000 filters – enough for up to 10,000 people to get clean water – en route to being distributed in coastal Chile, with more to follow. Waves for Water successfully provided clean water through thousands of filters in the wake of the Haiti disaster, as well as the Padang earthquake last year.



A second focus is to provide initial mobile shelter supplies to the hundreds of thousands who are currently without any housing. Tents, tarps, sleeping bags and blankets are being sourced and distributed in Chile to the hardest-hit areas, augmented with shipments being sent from the U.S.

Save The Waves dispatched environmental director Josh Berry and a small team to Chile on Wednesday, to rendezvous with ground crews there and assist in relief efforts. Josh and team have been securing supplies in Santiago and are slated to head out to the coast near the quake epicenter on Saturday.

Support has been from all parts of the world, including from the surf industry, and Save The Waves, local residents, and international travelers have assembled ground crews in the coastal town of Pichilemu. Teams are already running supplies from Pichilemu to the surrounding areas while organizing runs further south, to the areas hardest hit from the massive earthquake and subsequent tsunamis, with the support of Save The Waves. STW is also working closely with its local partner, Maule Itata Coastkeeper, which has an office in Curanipe further south, one of the hardest hit coastal towns, to distribute water filters and shelter supplies in that region.

High profile professional surfers have jumped in to support the relief efforts, led by Chile’s own Ramon Navarro, who was traveling to the Todos Santos Big Wave Event in Mexico when the earthquake hit. Navarro, a Save The Waves surf ambassador, is working with Quiksilver's Quinn Campbell, on the ground in Pichilemu and Billabong’s Chris Evans in California to activate swift relief efforts via Save The Waves. Says, Navarro, "I sincerely appreciate support for Chile from my international surf community, Kelly Slater, Rob Machado, Malloy brothers, Kohl Christenson, Save The Waves, Jon Rose from Waves for Water, Greg Long's whole family, Patagonia and others - they have shown they’re true friends and care a lot for Chile. Chile needs your help so please get involved."

Save The Waves ambassador Greg Long along with Kohl Christensen also left for Chile on Friday to transport water filters along with shelter supplies, and to help with efforts on the ground.
Patagonia, Inc., the outdoor apparel company, has stepped up and provided significant support for this initiative, and has been rallying others to join the cause.

Save The Waves is also now working with Operation Rainbow, a nonprofit with extensive experience in providing medical services to impoverished regions, to provide some basic medical supplies and relief, along with expertise, with the possibility for more involvement after initial needs are better assessed. On the ground in Chile, Save The Waves has also partnered with REACT Worldwide, a dedicated network of trained individuals who act as rapid, first responders to major disasters globally, including with direct medical aid.

Metallica Says: Fuerza, Chile!

Metallica band members thank Save The Waves supporters for their generosity in helping Chilean victims of the tsunami and earthquake:



You can also watch the video on YouTube.

Chile Earthquake Aid This Week!

Help Earthquake Victims & Donate Now:
> www.savethewaves.org

CHILE EARTHQUAKE UPDATE:

SAVE THE WAVES PARTNERING WITH WAVES FOR WATER TO PROVIDE HUMANITARIAN RELIEF

HELP CHILE NOW:
www.savethewaves.org

A massive earthquake and tsunami hit Chile this weekend. The earthquake epicenter was just 5km from Save The Waves Coalition's Maule Itata Coastkeeper office and is where Save The Waves' environmental advocacy efforts are focused. The earthquake and tidal wave damage to the area where Save The Waves works is devastating. Friends, colleagues and neighbors in coastal Chile need everyone’s help now more than ever before. The destruction to infrastructure is severe, and includes massive damage to structures, drinking water systems, power, transportation, and communication. This means that aid and relief in the next few weeks will be crucial to help save lives.

Because Save The Waves Coalition's ongoing environmental work is in the exact same area as the disaster, the organization is uniquely positioned to help direct humanitarian relief efforts in the region. Save The Waves is organizing a focused relief effort to this hardest hit region of Chile, including a humanitarian aid trip this week with a team that includes doctors, medics, and other relief workers. The organization is now accepting donations to support travel to the region to distribute water filters, medical treatment and supplies, local relief supplies, and camping gear to the affected coastal areas.

The primary focus of the mission will be to help provide clean drinking water to the hundreds of thousands of Chileans who are currently without water. Save The Waves is partnering with Waves for Water (http://www.wavesforwater.org) to distribute water filters for clean drinking water, and hopes to get up to 1,000 filters – enough for 10,000 people to get clean water – distributed in coastal Chile during the first week, with much more to follow. Waves for Water has extensive experience in providing clean water for disaster relief, and successfully distributed over 4,000 water filter systems to Haiti in the wake of the recent earthquake there, providing clean drinking water for up to 40,000 people.

Patagonia Inc, the outdoor apparel company, has stepped up and provided significant support for this initiative, and has been rallying others to join the cause.

All donations to Save The Waves for Chile earthquake relief will go directly to humanitarian work on the ground in the devastated regions near the quake and tsunami epicenter. Humanitarian aid efforts will be focused in the more rural coastal areas, between the major cities, where help and aid will generally be less available. Since Save The Waves is a small and nimble organization with years of experience in coastal Chile, support for this effort will be extremely effective, with no bureaucratic filters, no delays, just pure aid for the coastal communities that are in dire need. Donate and learn more at the link below.


PLEASE DONATE & HELP SAVE THE WAVES EARTHQUAKE RELIEF IN CHILE:
* www.savethewaves.org *

* Chile Relief & Media Contact:
Josh Berry
josh@savethewaves.org
Tel. 415-578-8388

Above photo courtesy latercera.com