HELP OUT and HANG OUT

ESFOS · Post by **ESFOS** » Thu May 21, 2009 6:37 pm

From nin.com - http://store.nin.com/helperic/

For those of you interested in meeting us / hanging out backstage at any upcoming NIN/JA dates AND helping someone in dire need, please CLICK HERE for more information.

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A Letter from Trent:

This is for something important. Eric De La Cruz is dying and needs a heart transplant. He keeps getting turned down for a transplant list because he's on Nevada Medicaid, and there are no transplant centers in Nevada. We want to get involved and hopefully so do you, so we're extending a hand. His sister Veronica (former Anchor and Internet Correspondent for CNN) has started a campaign to save his life.

Eric's situation shines a bright light on a broken health care system, and his particular set of problems are being addressed on the political front, aiming for reform in addition to the need for immediate financial help to keep him alive TODAY. I think we can help with the latter.

Here's what we're offering - three options:

If you have a ticket to a NIN/JA show: if you donate $1,000 to this cause, we'll invite you to come hang out with us before the NIN/JA show of your choice. You and a guest can watch soundcheck, eat dinner backstage with us, take pics / get autographs and watch the show from the side of the stage if you'd like.

If you donate $300, you and a friend can join us for soundcheck and a handshaking / hug session before doors open at the NIN/JA show of your choice.

If you do NOT have a ticket to a NIN/JA show: if you donate $1,200 to this cause, we'll invite you to come hang out with us before the NIN/JA show of your choice and provide 2 tickets (best available). You and a guest can watch soundcheck, eat dinner backstage with us, take pics / get autographs and watch the show from the side of the stage if you'd like.

100% of the money collected from this will go directly to Eric's fund.

I hope you'll consider helping out with this.

Sincerely, Trent Reznor

To find out more about Eric's situation:
http://weloveeric.com/
http://www.veronicadelacruzonline.com/

DEADLINE FOR DONATION PACKAGES IS 5:00PM (PST) 2 DAYS PRIOR TO EACH NIN/JA TOUR DATE.
NO MORE DONATIONS CAN BE ACCEPTED FOR THE FOLLOWING DATES
* 5.21.09 SANTA BARBARA, CA [SANTA BARBARA BOWL]
* 5.22.09 MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA [SHORELINE AMPHITHEATRE]
* 5.24.09 GEORGE, WA [THE GORGE - SASQUATCH FESTIVAL]

Post by **Mike** » Thu May 21, 2009 11:54 pm

I saw this yesterday when Trent tweeted about it.
It's always great to see people in his position giving back / helping when they can.

Kudos to you Mr. Reznor!

Post by **Mike** » Fri May 22, 2009 6:49 pm

Flash: Twitter, Nine Inch Nails Raise $446,020 for Eric

By David Weir | May 22nd, 2009 @ 12:45 pm

Can Rock and Roll plus social media save a dying young man’s life?

This drama is playing out in real-time on Twitter, as we’ve been following over the past week. This morning, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails emailed me with the news that as of midnight last night another $200,000 plus had been raised through the group’s offers to grant back-stage access to those donors who contribute to the Eric De La Cruz heart transplant cause during their current national reunion tour with Jane’s Addiction.)

Last night’s performance, BTW, was at the Shoreline Amphitheater, just down the street from Google’s world headquarters. It’s a good bet many Googlers were in attendance, and no doubt, among the donors.

The De La Cruz crisis has developed into a potentially defining moment in the evolution of Twitter as not only the breaking news channel of choice, but a network where people can raise awareness and unleash action on behalf of various worthy causes.

Eric’s sister, CNN Internet Correspondent Veronica De La Cruz, turned to Twitter last week in a last-ditch effort to bring pressure upon Congress to help cut through the red tape preventing him from being evaluated for a heart transplant. The 27-year-old, who is living in Nevada, is dying from a rare heart condition, and his prospects just last Friday seemed dire indeed.

But led by Twitterati including The Expert, news of De La Cruz’s battle ignited one of the biggest Tweet Storms in the young company’s history.

As one reader, “TH,” commented on my post from last evening, Veronica’s political campaign has had an effect: “I believe Veronica received a favorable ruling from a federal judge in Nevada regarding Eric’s ability to be covered under federal Medicare, allowing him to be moved out of state and evaluated by a transplant center…Veronica was able to accelerate having his case appealed and heard (it was originally scheduled for a year from now) largely due to the efforts she started on Twitter. Local news coverage, initiated by bombardment from Twitter, and an onslaught of letters, emails and calls to the offices of state representatives eventually expedited the case greatly.”

These developments, along with the money NIN is raising, appear to be a game-changer in Eric De La Cruz’s case. Whether he is able to receive a heart transplant in time or not, his sister and all of those supporting her family have to know that they everything they could to save his life. In addition, the tone of this campaign feels less like a one-off than the potential beginnings of a new movement.

If I were an evangelist for that new movement, I’d put it something like this: “Alone, we feel alienated and powerless against the oppressiveness of an uncaring health care system. Together, we can generate the kinds of pressure and resources that forces that cold system to respond to our demands.”

It will be fascinating to see whether Eric’s case unleashes a Twitter-based movement for comprehensive health care reform. This is precisely what President Barack Obama has been urging his supporters to do via weekly emails and radio addresses for some time now.

The Obama team is no doubt keenly aware of the De La Cruz case, and wondering how to can harness its energy to help break down the formidable political opposition that is intent on resisting any serious health care reform. This larger question hangs over the entire De la Cruz drama, so the stakes here truly are enormous.

As Twitter continues its ascent up its hockey-stick growth curve to scale, will it prove to be more than a successful social media company? Will it morph into a force for progressive social change?

Stay tuned.

http://industry.bnet.com/media/10002358 ... -for-eric/

I'm not in a spot right now where I can help others to much but I want to say bless you to the folks out there that dug deep into their pockets to help this guy out.

Give yourselves a round of applause!

Post by **Mike** » Fri May 22, 2009 7:07 pm

Trent Reznor wrote:We have now raised $542,212 for Eric. I love you people. Thank you.

I just saw this updated tally on Twitter.

Amazing!

Mudget · Post by **Mudget** » Fri May 22, 2009 7:46 pm

http://store.nin.com/helperic/

Don't forget, you can donate just $10, too (for those of us with crunched budgets).

Yeah, Trent really is the man. And I hope this Eric guy gets the transplant he needs.

Post by **hydro** » Sat May 23, 2009 8:00 am

this is amazing!! Awesome job Trent!!

if your like me and sooo frickin broke but want to help just sign this petition
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/help-save-eric

http://weloveeric.com/index.php

Post by **Mike** » Tue May 26, 2009 3:29 pm

NIN's Trent Reznor Raises More Than $645k for Fan in Need

By Caroline Klibanoff on May 26, 2009 3:00 PM

Twittering Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor opened a campaign last Wednesday to raise money for Eric De La Cruz, a Nevada Medicaid patient in need of a heart transplant. Both Nine Inch Nails and tour mates Jane's Addiction are offering special deals for the remaining shows on their tour to fundraise for De La Cruz's hopeful transplant. A $300 donation will grant concert attendees access to the pre-show soundcheck and a meet-and-greet with the band, while $1,000 will get you backstage for dinner and relaxing with the band, as well as stage-side viewing for the show, autographs and pictures. For fans without tickets, a $1,200 donation comes with two tickets to the show and VIP treatment backstage. This is NIN's final tour, so fans of the band will want to seize this opportunity.

De La Cruz was turned down from transplant lists because of the lack of transplant centers in Nevada. Reznor became aware of his situation after De La Cruz's sister, former CNN.com news anchor Veronica De La Cruz, began a fundraising campaign on her website. The campaign is as much to raise money for Eric as it is to raise awareness of Nevada's limited transplant opportunities, and to petition Senator Harry Reid and other Congress members for improved legislation.

In part thanks to Reznor's Twitter presence and the letter he posted on the NIN website, the results of his fundraising were pretty astounding, collecting over $260,000 in one day. The total is still climbing, past $645,000 towards a goal set by Veronica of $706,968.

Reading stuff like this is proof that we as humans are capable of doing the right thing.

If you've made a donation you should be proud of yourself.

Post by **hydro** » Thu May 28, 2009 10:20 am

Tony Hawk is donating 100 signed Skateboards

signed complete skateboards for #eric fundraiser will be available soon (also comes with NIN "still" CD) http://twitpic.com/640p5
about 2 hours ago from Tweetie

Post by **hydro** » Mon Jun 01, 2009 11:15 am

trent_reznorJane's Addiction are joining the cause to help #Eric ! Expect a very cool and unusual offering from them shortly.
13 minutes ago from web

Post by **hydro** » Tue Jun 02, 2009 4:39 pm

Jane's Addiction My Space blog
blogs.myspace.com/janesaddiction

June 2, 2009 - Tuesday
Special "Be Backstage w/ Jane's Addiction" Charity Offer
Check this out: we are giving you a very rare and cool opportunity to hang out with us backstage and watch us warm up and jam before the show in our intimate rehearsal space -- and help save someone's life in the process. A STRICTLY LIMITED total of 10 people per show can participate so act quick!
DONATE / SIGN UP: https://store.nin.com/donateja/

Since Trent and NIN began fundraising for Eric De La Cruz, we have been wanting to contribute to this great cause and are excited to announce the inclusion of an awesome VIP package for the remainder of the tour. Here’s what we came up with…
Before every show, we regularly warm up in an intimate style set-up backstage together. For $1,000, we’d like to offer 10 guests per show the opportunity to sit in us, hang out, and witness the JA preshow experience. In addition to the backstage hang and autograph signing, you will have the chance to watch our set from the side of the stage if you’d like.
For all of our Jane’s Addiction fans out there, this is an amazing and rare chance for you to be able to share such a special night w/ us up close and personal while contributing to a really good cause at the same time.
All proceeds from this will go to help Eric De LA Cruz get a new heart and a new chance at life.

Night of show details and instructions for donors:
Your donation of $1,000 will put you on our special JA guest list. When you arrive at the venue, you'll be given special laminates allowing you access backstage around the time NIN hits the stage (remember, NIN plays before JA on this tour). A list of set start times can be found here: http://www.ninja2009.com/tour/
Backstage, you'll be escorted to JA's secret rehearsal room, where you'll meet and hang with us in a room about the size of a small living room. Then we start our long-running tradition of playing anything and everything to warm up and jam before the show. You'll literally be sitting / standing right next to us and it should be a really cool and unprecedented experience. Autographs welcome.
We'll then make final preparations for the stage and if you want, you can watch us FROM the stage as our special VIP guest.
Please note: we start rehearsing roughly 1/2 way through NIN's performance, so you'll still be able to see part of NIN's set (from side stage if you're backstage at that point - we'll figure it out) and then come deep backstage to see us do our thing.
We hope you'll consider this offer - we're desperately trying to help save a guy's life who's fallen through the cracks of a broken health-care system.

Details on Eric De La Cruz here:
http://www.veronicadelacruzonline.com/
http://weloveeric.com/
Thanks and hope to see you soon!
-JA