Foster the People and "The Do Good Bus" Mobilize Fans for Community Service

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Do Good Bus, a transportable community service venture, concluded its fall tour with indie-pop trio Foster the People on Oct. 20. The Do Good Bus stopped in 24 cities on Foster the People's North American tour from September 13 to October 20, 2011, partnering with local charities from each city and taking fans on community service projects. Keeping with The Do Good Bus tradition, all of the service projects remained a mystery for fans until they arrived at the project site.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111102/NY98733)

Foster the People and The Do Good Bus partnered on tour to create awareness for local causes, build community among passengers on The Do Good Bus and provide fun, volunteer experiences that would inspire people to volunteer again.

"Going out and volunteering sounds simple, but many people don't volunteer because they don't know where to start," said Mark Foster, lead singer of Foster the People. "The Do Good Bus was a perfect complement to our tour because we were able to do something different every day that matched the needs of the city we were in. It was a great way to show people how to volunteer, and we hope the experience inspires them to continue giving back."

During the tour, Foster the People fans rode The Do Good Bus to mystery projects where they had a chance to: play with children, feed the homeless, plant trees, package food, disassemble mattresses, sort clothing, harvest crops, raise money, move furniture, distribute books, discuss HIV/AIDS prevention, clean up parks, pass out eyeglasses and socks, help with habitat restoration, sanitize toy donations, guerilla garden and paint a mural.

Among their accomplishments, Do Good Bus volunteers/Foster the People fans:

    --  Raised $25,962 in Austin for the Texas Wildfire Relief Fund;
    --  Made 8,500 meals for a Dallas, Texas, food bank;
    --  Distributed 1,700 books to Richmond, Virginia, elementary school
        students; and,
    --  Sorted more than 2,000 pieces of emergency clothing for runaway youth in
        New York City.

A complete list of tour stops and volunteer accomplishments follows this release.

"To be so thoughtful to give back to the cities they visited while they are on tour - I'm so impressed," said Trisha Dehnbostel, garden leader and director of healthful food access at Local Matters, the charity that partnered with The Do Good Bus and Foster the People in Columbus, Ohio.

ABOUT THE DO GOOD BUS

The Do Good Bus promises altruistic adventurism to a bus full of passengers by taking them to a mystery volunteer activity where they help a local cause in a fun and social environment. During each ride, The Do Good Bus strives to create awareness for local causes, create community among its passengers and encourage ongoing support for the causes it visits. To see its amazing ride, please visit The Do Good Bus Facebook page: www.facebook.com/dogoodbus. Follow The Do Good Bus on Twitter at twitter.com/DoGoodBus or visit its webpage www.dogoodbus.com.

ABOUT FOSTER THE PEOPLE

Los Angeles-based indie-pop trio Foster the People released their chart-topping, critically acclaimed debut Torches this May. The album made its Billboard debut at #8 and includes the bands certified double-platinum single Pumped Up Kicks. Foster the People will continue to tour the world this fall. With sold-out shows in nearly every market and a live set that's undeniably energetic, this is a band who you won't want to miss in 2011! For more information about Foster the People, please visit: www.fosterthepeople.com.

THE DO GOOD BUS AND FOSTER THE PEOPLE TOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Scottsdale, AZ

Do Good Bus volunteers worked with a local nonprofit, WHEAT, to collect professional clothing for low-income people who don't have money to buy suits, jackets and other attire for job interviews

Dallas, TX

Volunteers who boarded The Do Good Bus in Dallas stopped at North Texas Food Bank and prepared approximately 8,500 meals for families whose children eat lunch during the week at school, but go without meals on the weekends because their parents can't afford to feed them.

Austin, TX

Do Gooders collected $12,981 at Austin City Limits Festival for equipment for volunteer firefighters battling Texas wildfires, which C3 Presents and Austin City Limits matched. Together they raised $25,962.

Houston, TX

Do Good Bus volunteers prepared two suites for two families about to move into Halo House Foundation, an organization that makes affordable, fully furnished apartments available to people who receive treatment at Texas Medical Center for blood cancers.

Do Good Bus staff also raised another $750 in donations (in 15 minutes) for volunteer firefighters following the Houston Foster the People show at the House of Blues. Mark Foster paused during the show to ask fans to donate.

New Orleans, LA

Do Good Bus volunteers played football, basketball and kickball with 70 boys who either don't have fathers or whose fathers aren't an active part of their lives. Do Good Bus volunteers also talked with the boys about the importance of staying in school, how actions have consequences and why one should try to be a good person. The Do Good Bus partnered with Son of a Saint for this project.

Orlando, FL

Do Good Bus volunteers disassembled 100 old, worn out mattresses, so they could be recycled to buy new mattresses for people affected by flood, fire or financial hardship. The Do Good Bus partnered with Orlando nonprofit The Mustard Seed, which makes mattresses and home furnishings available to people who have experienced tragedy or disaster.

Atlanta, GA

Do Good Bus volunteers spent more than three hours cleaning up trails and landscaping Piedmont Park. Approximately three million people visit the Piedmont Park every year. The Do Good Bus partnered with Piedmont Park Conservancy for this project.

Nashville, TN

Do Good Bus volunteers prepared an urban farm for harvest season. Their work will help people in Nashville who live in "food deserts" - parts of town without grocery stores within a mile and a half radius - have access to healthy, nutritious food. The Do Good Bus partnered with Hands on Nashville for this project.

Richmond, VA

Do Good Bus volunteers partnered with the I Have a Dream Foundation - Richmond to distribute more than 1,700 books to students at elementary students in Richmond.

Washington D.C.

Volunteers joined with The Grassroots Project to play games with eighth grade boys at Meridian Public Charter School and talk with them about abstinence, HIV and AIDS prevention. One in 20 adults in Washington D.C. has HIV.

New York, NY

Do Good Bus volunteers sorted emergency clothing for runaway and homeless youth at The Door in NYC. Their work will help the more than 2,000 runaway and homeless youth who receive emergency clothing from the Door every year.

Toronto, ON - Canada

Do Good Bus staff and Foster the People fans raised $430 for Arts For Children and Youth, an organization that provides Toronto children experiences with the arts.

Boston, MA

Do Good Bus volunteers partnered with Boston Natural Areas Network to plant 10 trees at Pope John Paul II Park in Dorchester. The community is working to transform the park - which once served as a landfill - into a scenic meadow.

Columbus, OH

Do Good Bus volunteers harvested crops and planted fruit trees at one of 90 community gardens in Columbus. Their work will make it possible for a Columbus neighborhood to have access to free, healthy food. The Do Good Bus partnered with Local Matters on this project. Its executive director commented that the volunteers did three weeks worth of work in three hours.

Indianapolis, IN

Do Good Bus volunteers partnered with Keep Indianapolis Beautiful to clean up two Indianapolis parks.

Chicago, IL

Do Good Bus volunteers sorted and cleaned books and toys that Chicagoans donated to The Gaia Movement through its 500+ clothes-and-toy-collection boxes located throughout the Greater Chicago area. Gaia will work with Chicago Aldermen to distribute the toys at community centers during the holiday season.

Seattle, WA

Do Gooders in Seattle planted trees and plants with the Nature Consortium to help restore the West Duwamish Greenbelt, the largest forest in Seattle.

Vancouver, BC - Canada

Do Good Bus volunteers in Vancouver spent their Thanksgiving Day helping Union Gospel Mission distribute eyeglasses and socks to approximately 3,000 homeless and low-income people. They also helped serve Thanksgiving meals.

Portland, OR

Portland Do Gooders packaged 9,693 lbs. of onions for Oregon Food Bank to distribute to families in need in Oregon and southwest Washington.

San Francisco, CA

Do Gooders in San Francisco worked at Lobos Creek Valley in the Presidio on a habitat restoration project to help protect the San Francisco Lessingia, a federally listed endangered species of wildflowers. Volunteers partnered with Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy for the project.

Los Angeles, CA (Project 1)

L.A. Do Gooders visited Westside Global Awareness Magnet School in Marina del Ray, where they teamed up with 25 students and 25 community members to paint a mural, build a 70-foot-long raised planting bed for fruit trees, and play kickball.

Pomona, CA

Do Gooders in Pomona painted the inside of Pomona Valley Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Montclair, California. They also moved 3.5 tons of building-material donations - which included house doors, windows and tile - from the organization's parking lot to its warehouse.

Los Angeles, CA (Project 2)

L.A. Do Gooders partnered with L.A. Guerrilla Gardening to clean up two public gardens and pick up trash in MacArthur Park in Los Angeles.

San Diego, CA

Do Gooders in San Diego bagged apples to help with Feeding America San Diego's Farm2Kids program, which makes it possible for various schools throughout San Diego County to distribute fresh produce to children. They also repackaged pinto beans for the organization to distribute to families facing hunger.

Las Vegas, NV

Las Vegas Do Gooders visited Tonopah Community Garden, the city's first and only urban farm, to help tend a garden: they dug a compost pit, mulched and planted new trees and flowers. They also visited Las Vegas Rescue Mission where they prepared a drink station to provide water and drinks to the homeless; assembled hygiene kits; and prepared and served that evening's meal.

SOURCE The Do Good Bus

SOURCE: The Do Good Bus

CONTACT: Carli Cichocki, The Do Good Bus, +1-216-926-5250, carli@dogoodbus.com; or Nikki Bennett, Foster the People, +1-212-833-8797, Nikki.bennett@sonymusic.com

Web Site: http://www.dogoodbus.com