Tunica Humane Society founder Sandy Williams holds Hope before she and her 10 puppies head to their new home. (Photo: Tunica Humane Society)

A note from Rob: Sidewalk Angels Foundation has been a labor of love for us for over a decade. Our goal is to continue to raise awareness and help grass roots organizations across the country and Caribbean that work tirelessly to help those with no voice. #SidewalkAngels

When the Tunica Humane Society in Mississippi first opened its doors, it was a makeshift facility held together by a team of passionate volunteers with no funding.

“Our shelter was very primitive, just a sea of dog pens with tarps flapping in the wind, but suddenly we were saving hundreds and hundreds of dogs,” founder and director Sandy Williams tells MNN.

Prior to the society opening in 2008, Williams says there were no provisions in the area to help homeless and abused animals.

“Most of them met a certain death in our county, without ever having a chance at a loving home or much-needed medical care. We had no money, no resources, no support from our local government when we started, only the passionate desire to make a difference in the lives of these animals. Hard work and positive results is what fueled us in those early days.”

The humane society depended strictly on donations, and few people even know it existed until Williams heard about the Sidewalk Angels Foundation. Established by singer/songwriter Rob Thomas and his wife Marisol (shown below), the not-for-profit organization provides funds to small, grassroots groups, particularly no-kill animal shelters and animal rescues. (Thomas is better known as the lead singer for Matchbox Twenty, but he’s also a solo artist and a sought-after songwriter.)

Williams took a chance and reached out to the foundation, thinking the Mississippi group might be a good fit with the foundation’s mission.

“A small grassroots charity. One that falls through the cracks on most grant requests and struggles with funding on a daily basis,” she says. “We were small at that time, but our passion for the animals was unsurpassed.”

Williams sent the foundation a video showing the primitive shelter and the happy canine residents. Within weeks, the humane society received a check for $125,000 to purchase some land and a building so they could provide a real shelter for their animals with plenty of space for the dogs to play.

Started in 2003, the New York-based Sidewalk Angels Foundation works as an umbrella organization, offering financial support and other resources to smaller groups that don’t have the budget or organizational skills to expand their services. The group supports animal rescue organizations as well as other causes including childhood health and wellness and the fight against homelessness.

The foundation’s name was inspired by lyrics in Rob Thomas’s holiday song, “New York City Christmas.” In 2017, the foundation was honored with the Compassion in Action Award from the Humane Society of the United States “for making real change in helping those who have no voice.”

The foundation has raised more than $1 million and has helped groups such as Pets Alive, The Sato Project, Bully Breed Rescue, Equine Animal Rescue, The Animal House in Jamaica and, of course, the Tunica Humane Society.

“Sidewalks Angels changed our world overnight,” Tunica’s Williams says. “When they took a chance and believed in a handful of volunteers in rural Mississippi, everyone else began to believe in us. The funding began to come easier from other foundations at that point.”

That was six years ago, and the relationship continues. Williams says the foundation sends two large donations every year and follows the humane society’s work on social media.

“Today the Tunica Humane Society is known across this country for the work we do with homeless and abused animals. We are a no-kill facility and have inspired other shelters in the South to follow suit,” Williams says. “At the end of the day, we can only help as many animals as our funding allows. Because of Sidewalk Angels’ continued support, we are able to save hundreds and hundreds of animals every year.”

Read the full article at mnn.com

Jason Browning was 46 years old. He came from Columbus, OH, but for the last 20 years he called every corner of the world home. He was the founder and CEO of The Browning Group. He started out doing security for Hanson and Marilyn Manson. He liked to say he could work from “Hanson to Manson.”

He very soon started doing security for a host of artists.

He worked security for Matchbox Twenty for years. Always evolving and learning, he became the tour manager for Rob Thomas and then Rob’s day to day manager and Matchbox Twenty’s tour manager. His company worked with Carlos Santana, Linkin Park and others and he became the manager for many bands including Stone Temple Pilots.

He was a bright light with a dark sense of humor.
He was always five moves ahead of you in any situation.
He could NAIL an Axl Rose impersonation.
He would do anything for his friends and had no time for anyone who crossed them.
He loved to laugh and to make others laugh.
He was perfectly imperfect and always, always trying to improve.
If a man can be measured by the amount of people he leaves behind who will think about him, then he was a giant.
To say he will be missed doesn’t come close.

In lieu of flowers, Jason’s family has asked that people who wish to remember him send a donation to Sidewalk Angels Foundation. An organization he was on the board of and that was very close to his heart.

“ Sidewalk Angels Foundation is honored to be receiving the Compassion in Action award from The Humane Society of the United States. It is truly humbling for our small grass roots Foundation to be recognized by one of the world’s leading animal advocacy organization http://bit.ly/2yKQSss