Private equity investor and Hall of Fame Quarterback Steve Young's charity the Forever Young Foundation launched Sophie's Place, an organization that provides music therapy.
In a promotional video, Young explains that in contrast to many of the charities supported by his foundation that are run by great partners, "This one's kind of organic from our foundation. It's really my wife's vision for music therapy."
Young's foundation is using a new tool for crowdsourcing engagement, one little act at a time. The new tool, an iPhone app called Time Machine, encourages people to do and record acts of service. Users of the app earn points to qualify them for unique experiences, like a meet and greet with band at the Imagine Dragons concert in Salt Lake City on July 28.
Time Machine cofounder Lindsay Hadley explains, “Time is our most precious resource, but most of us just follow people instead of having our own meaningful experiences. We want people to do inspiring things and support causes, online and beyond the screen.”
"We built Time Machine to be a place where brands, organizations and people can come together to rally other around causes or movements they’re passionate about," she adds.
The app supports a variety of charities in addition to Sophie's Place, including The Tyler Robinson Foundation and The Progeria Research Foundation,
"We have $75,000 of prizes to give. There are hundreds of tickets for the sold out Imagine Dragons concert and thousands of other chances to win, including meals from Costa Vida. Users' chances of winning are very good," she concludes.
On Thursday, July 23, 2015 at 1:00 Eastern, Young and Hadley will join me for a live discussion about Sophie's Place and Time Machine. Tune in here then to watch the interview live. Post questions in the comments below or tweet questions before the interview to @devindthorpe.
You can download an audio podcast here or subscribe via iTunes.
More about Sophie's Place:
Twitter: @4sophiesplace
Sophie's Place is a dedicated Music Therapy space built in children's hospitals for the youth being treated. These special rooms provide therapists a wonderful place to offer children non-invasive, evidence based medical treatment to their young hospital patients suffering from pain, chronic illness, and serious injuries.
Sophie Barton was a dear friend of Barb and Steve Young's who unexpectedly passed away at a very young age. Sophie often sang in hospitals because she understood music's power to heal. The Young family branded these rooms they are building in her name in her honor. While most people know music has an extraordinary power to bring comfort and peace to the soul, clinical studies continue to prove that music therapy.
Young's bio:
Mr. Young is a Managing Partner and Co-founder of HGGC. He is also a member of HGGC's Policy and Investment Committee and Executive Committees.
Prior to his inception of HGGC, Mr. Young was a co-founder and Managing Director of Sorenson Capital, a private equity fund which focused on middle market leveraged buyouts in the Western United States. Previously, Mr. Young was a member in Northgate Capital, LLC, the general partner of Northgate Capital Partners, L.P., a fund of funds.
Mr. Young's professional football career spanned more than fifteen years in the NFL, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers, where he received numerous accolades, including Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XXIX, Sports Illustrated and Sporting News' Player of the Year from 1992 - 1994, and the NFL's Most Valuable Player for 1992 and 1994. In 2005, Mr. Young was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the first left-handed quarterback to be so honored. Mr. Young is also the highest-rated quarterback in NFL history and has the distinction of being the only signal caller in league annals to win four consecutive NFL passing titles.
He founded and chairs the Forever Young Foundation which is actively involved in children's charities worldwide and is currently the broadcast host as well as the former International Spokesperson for the Children's Miracle Network which has raised over one billion dollars world-wide to benefit children's hospitals.
Mr. Young has also served as the corporate spokesperson for companies such as Nike, Visa, Sun Microsystems, Sprint, PowerBar and ICON Health & Fitness, and has recently been profiled in a variety of publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Worth Magazine, Sports Illustrated, People, Inside Sports and GQ.
Mr. Young is a graduate of Brigham Young University where he earned a J.D. from the College of Law as well as a B.S. in Finance and Political Science.
More about Time Machine:
Twitter: @dotimemachine
Time Machine is an app that helps people discover what their favorite brands, causes and people are up to, learn how they can get involved and share their experiences on social media. By completing actions, users support causes and qualify to earn rewards, VIP experiences and products. Businesses and charities can use Time Machine to engage their audiences in projects and movements online and beyond the screen. Time Machine is available on iOS and coming soon to Android. For more information, visit timemachine.do.
Hadley's bio:
Lindsay Hadley is a social entrepreneur and professional do-gooder. Early in her career, she facilitated dozens of international humanitarian projects in Kenya, Peru, Mexico, and Thailand. Since then, she has raised more than $24M for social causes. Lindsay executive produced The End of Polio Concert in Perth, Australia, and the Global Citizen Festival in 2012 and 2013 in Central Park, which – with a live audience of 60,000 and a worldwide media reach of more than 3 billion — is the largest charity event syndication to date. The mother of two small boys and the wife of a loving and supportive husband, Lindsay knows that relationships are most important in this life.
