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Songwriters: Leonard Erickson, Chris Bickel, Rob Blackledge, Brett Gillan
CreatiVets has helped more than 1,000 combat Veterans since its founding in 2013 — with more than 400 Veterans participating in its songwriting programs to date. The organization’s utmost goal is to end Veteran suicide by offering alternative ways to cope with trauma, using the arts as a therapeutic cornerstone in the road to recovery. Serving as a connector for opportunities that magnify CreatiVets within the entertainment space since 2020, Big Machine Label Group continues to contribute to CreatiVets’ operational initiatives through Scott and Sandi Borchetta‘s Music Has Value Fund and Big Machine Music, which serves as the co-publisher for CreatiVets.
“I had never tried to write music before meeting CreatiVets. The experience of telling my story was incredible. I hadn’t told anyone a lot that I shared with the team. It’s miraculous that you can take bad memories and nightmares, and turn them into something beautiful. I can attest to this process as being very helpful for veterans. I hope that any veteran that listens to my song finds a little bit of peace in it. Thank you, CreatiVets.”
-“Welcome Home” Songwriter and Veteran, Len Erickson
“I wanted to be a part of this song because I think it is so incredibly important that we veterans support each other. Vietnam veterans were the ones that paved the way and showed us post 9/11 vets what being a soldier was. I hope Vietnam veterans hear this song because when they came home they were greeted with such animosity. I couldn’t imagine having to go through hell and then having to go through a different type of hell at home. They deserved better and they still do. Vietnam Veterans Day is so important because it shows that there is a grateful Nation that loves and cares for them. I just want to say from the bottom of my heart to all Vietnam veterans,
thank you for your service and WELCOME HOME.”
-Scotty Hasting, “Welcome Home” Featured Artist
CreatiVets is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to provide wounded veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury with opportunities to use art, music, and creative writing to heal their unseen wounds of war. Their goal is to empower veterans with tools they can use for the rest of their lives and enable them to see their own capacity for success in an arena outside the battlefield. Learn more at www.creativets.org.
The Music Has Value fund was created in 2015 by Scott and Sandi Borchetta to provide funds to organizations which support those who make music, aspire to make music, and access and appreciate music. Music Has Value focuses on two specific lanes. The fund, administered by The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, will continue to target K-12 schools needing instruments and resources, with an emphasis on rural areas that are often overlooked. Additionally, Music Has Value aims to enrich lives both young and old, and a portion of the dollars pledged will support music therapy programs for seniors and those battling Alzheimer’s. For more information, visit www.MusicHasValue.com.