The “Do Good Bus” is a mobile community service venture with indie-pop band Foster the People.
The bus and the band partnered for a six-week tour across North America, which gave fans the opportunity to give back to the community and create awareness around local issues. The tour, which took place from13 September to 20 October 2011 aimed to make volunteer experiences fun so that people will be inspired to volunteer again.
In each of the 24 cities that the bus stopped, the initiative partnered with a local charity and fans to realise a community service project. The projects Foster the People and the Do Good Bus undertook included playing with children, feed the homeless, planting trees, packaging food, sorting clothing, harvesting crops, moving furniture, distributing book, discussing HIV/Aids precention, sanitizing toy donation and painting a mural.
“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.”
Among their accomplishments, Do Good Bus volunteers/Foster the People fans:
- Raised US$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.
