The Foundation, whose tagline is “bringing hope to children,” was formed in October 2000 after Creed donated all the proceeds from its single, “With Arms Wide Open,” from the Human Clay album, to the With Arms Wide Open Foundation. The band also contributed $1 for every ticket sold on the Human Clay Tour. The Scott Stapp Foundation, as it is now called, gives grants to qualifying organizations typically in the range of $275 to $18,000.
“I think our next initiative for the Foundation is just going to stay focused and run with what the mission statement is and that is to help orphans and widows and the hungry and those in need, and any other place that my wife’s [Jaclyn] heart and my heart feel compelled to act,” the Florida-born Stapp told samaritanmag.com, during an interview to promote Creed’s new comeback album, Full Circle.
Not surprisingly, given his career choice, Stapp says music education and “music awareness” is another area of importance for the Foundation.
“It’s very sad and really not a good service to our children in our education programs [that music classes are being removed] because I feel that music has a direct correlation between success in mathematics and in English, in reading comprehension and various other things. It’s a part of the core curriculum that should never be taken out and that’s something that my foundation, along with VH1 Save The Music, and some other partners are always involved in.”
The Foundation also “does a lot of things” with the Armed Forces, he says, such as helping wounded soldiers, but perhaps his biggest commitment is trying to ensure that no child goes hungry in North America by maintaining a relationship with Second Harvest food bank.
“That organization has been around for hundreds of years, and they’re virtually in every city in North America and they feed the hungry and they focus on children,” explains Stapp. “I found out about the organization when I was told that there’s over a 100,000 children under the age of 13 in my hometown, Orlando, Florida, that did not have a meal every day.
“So when I went on my tour for [his 2005 solo album] The Great Divide, I basically raised awareness in each city. I would take a dollar or two dollars from the ticket profit, whatever that was, and then I would match it with my own funds, and then at the end of the show I’d let the fans know how much I appreciated their contribution to feeding children in their own backyard.”
Creed will likely do something similar when it tours behind Full Circle.
Fore more information, go to www.scottstappfoundation.com
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