Springsteen Fans Unite On Internet, Raise Thousands Of Dollars In Memory Of E Street Band Member Danny Federici

Members of the Backstreets.com/Bruce Brunch radio/Internet community are hosting a virtual "brunch-athon" to raise funds for Melanoma research. The event is in honor of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band member Danny Federici, who passed away on Thursday April 17 after a three-year battle with the disease. The event raised more than $8,000 for the Danny Federici Melanoma Fund in the first two days alone.

Boston, MA (PRWEB) April 24, 2008 -- Reeling from the tragic news that original Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band member Danny Federici passed away after a three-year battle with Melanoma last Thursday at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital in New York, members of the Backstreets.com/Bruce Brunch radio/Internet community decided to channel their sadness into something productive.

The result has been a fund-raiser, which has already seen more than $8000 in contributions and counting.

It might seem peculiar that some rock and roll fans look forward to waking up early Sunday mornings. But over the last three years a growing, worldwide Internet community of Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band fans has been doing just that --- rising early Sunday morning and congregating on the message board of a popular Springsteen fan website, Backstreets.com, to listen to the Bruce Brunch.

As word spread, Springsteen fans ranging from 15 to 65 have joined the ranks of early risers to listen to the local radio broadcast or the simultaneous Internet stream of the two-hour show between 9:00 and 11:00 AM (Eastern) on New Jersey radio station 105.7, The Hawk. The Bruce Brunch was created three years ago and is hosted each week by longtime Springsteen fan and aficionado Tom Cunningham.

In an effort to do something special as a community, a small group of BTX Bruce Brunch regular listeners decided to use last Sunday's Bruce Brunch as a platform to raise additional money for the Danny Federici Melanoma Fund, which is affiliated with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and dedicated to the research and development of new and effective treatments for Melanoma

Since Saturday night, when details of the fund raiser were first posted on the BTX fan forum at Backstreets.com, more than $8,000 has been raised, with donations still pouring in. BTX Brunch-athon organizers said Tuesday they are "ecstatic over the overwhelming response" and are extending the fund-raiser for two more weeks.

Organizers hope to make a formal presentation of the funds raised along with a list of those who have contributed to representatives from both the Federici family and Sloan-Kettering in early May.

Many of contributors say that while they remain deeply saddened by Federici's passing, this initiative has helped them begin the healing process with the knowledge they are doing something to honor Danny's life and music while also helping facilitate Melanoma treatment and research.

BTX member and one of the organizers of the fund-raiser, John J. Kelly of Boston said the idea to conduct this "Brunch-athon" was seen as a way to help ease the pain that he observed was being felt by everyone on the website.

"I first saw Danny perform at a Springsteen concert in Syracuse, New York, in 1978," said Kelly, who was a freshman in college at the time. "Many of us have enjoyed Danny's unique keyboard and accordion sound for 30 years or more so it's only natural to feel a huge loss. It's almost like the shock and sadness of losing a family member."

Another organizer is Katherine Byrd, of Norfolk, Virginia. Byrd has been working tirelessly, tallying and keeping track of the donations, which have been come in from numerous countries all over the world.

"The E Street Band is why the Backstreets.com and BTX discussion board community exists," Byrd said. "We have raised money many times over the years for various charities. With our hearts breaking over the untimely passing of one of the band's founding members, I am not surprised that so many BTX members wanted to do something to honor the heart of the E Street Band, Danny Federici."

In all, nearly 300 BTX members have made contributions in amounts ranging from a few dollars to several hundred, according to Byrd.

"I'm usually on-line for two hours every Sunday for the Bruce Brunch but this Sunday I was accepting donations for over 14 hours," Byrd added. "I finally just had to shut off the computer and go to sleep. I woke up the next morning and found another 17 donations waiting for me and I really don't expect them to stop anytime soon. We want to give everyone an opportunity to give what they can before we tally the final amount and write the check."

Many members of Backstreets.com's BTX community have commented on the "outpouring of love and affection" they've witnessed since the announcement of Federici's death. Sunday was no exception. Donations arrived while the Brunch was going on from Springsteen fans of all ages and from all parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, Europe and even Afghanistan, where one BTX member, a woman serving in the Armed Forces who is known as "Captain Nat" joins in the weekly music appreciation.

A third organizer of this fundraising effort, longtime Springsteen fan Susan McDonald of Dennisport, Massachusetts, said she found one contribution particularly moving.

"There is a 15-year-old Springsteen fan named Sarah who donated her entire weekly allowance in memory of Danny," McDonald said. "I just couldn't believe that someone that age would make that kind of sacrifice. I was so touched that she would do that, and it kind of summed up for me the caring nature of the Brunch crowd, and the diversity of 'E Street Nation.' What unites us is our love of Bruce's music and our need to celebrate Danny's life and music."

Organizers say they would like to continue to raise as much money as possible over the next two week and are encouraging all Springsteen fans to help out by going to: http://www.backstreets.com/btx/viewtopic.php?t=88430

For more information about the Danny Federici Melanoma Fund you can visit their web site at: www.thedannyfedericimelanomafund.com.

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