Fund-raising lands teenagers onstage with favorite band

by Johanna Ginsberg
NJJN Staff Writer
12.29.05

On Dec. 12, two West Orange High School seniors, Nomi Kaplan and Caroline Berman, stepped into a fantasy — they got onstage with their favorite band, spoke to a cheering crowd, and introduced the lead singer. All because of a little pink button they designed.

The two 17-year-olds consider themselves “superfans” of Andrew McMahon, 23-year-old lead singer of the LA-based alt-rockers Something Corporate and Jack’s Mannequin. They’ve attended about 17 of his concerts and even convinced him to record the messages on their cell phone voice mail system after meeting him at one area concert.

So when he announced in June that he had acute lymphatic leukemia, they knew they had to do something. “We weren’t okay with just sitting and doing nothing,” said Caroline. “His music has such a positive, great message. It’s very upbeat. We feel so moved by his music we couldn’t just sit…. We wanted to start something.”

They started the Be Positive Project to raise money for pediatric cancer research. In support of the effort, they designed tiny pink buttons with a keyboard down the side and the message “Be Positive,” which they took from a tattoo that McMahon sports on his arm. Proceeds from the sale of the buttons, which cost $1, are donated to the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation. (McMahon requested that fans donate money to the PCRF in lieu of sending him gifts or cards.) To date, the girls have raised $1,300.

The buttons are “something cheap that people can wear, and it’s different from bracelets,” Nomi said, referring to the rubber bracelets inspired by cyclist Lance Armstrong’s “Livestrong” cancer fund-raiser. Theirs is not the first fund-raising campaign on behalf of the PCRF in McMahon’s honor. Fans have sold flip-flops, CDs, and bracelets, according to the Jack’s Mannequin Web site, efforts that have raised over $5,000.

Nomi, a member of B’nai Shalom in West Orange, and Caroline started a Web site for the campaign and have sold the buttons at concerts. They asked members of a variety of their favorite bands to endorse the project, trading buttons for photos of the band members wearing the button, which they also put on the project’s Web site.

Meanwhile, in September, McMahon’s cancer went into remission, and by December he was performing again. He appeared for the second time since his diagnosis Dec. 12 at Gimme Shelter, a 15-year-old benefit concert held annually in Los Angeles, whose proceeds this year went to PCRF and the New West Charter School in West LA.

Although the teens said they “had to be at the concert,” their mothers weren’t so sure about sending their teenage daughters off to California by themselves, notwithstanding their A averages and general competence in “running the world,” as Tina Kaplan, Nomi’s mother, put it.

“They said, ‘Wherever the first performance is, we are so there,’” recalled Kaplan. “I said, ‘You are so not.’”

As the concert approached, the parents began to soften, especially when Caroline’s mother realized that a business trip to LA was on her calendar. She would be able to fly with them, stay with them in the hotel, and accompany them to the concert. “Then it became much more palatable,” said Kaplan.

Meanwhile, their daughters had e-mailed a local radio station in California, asking for air time to pitch their project. They received a response from the concert producers, who suggested the pair go onstage, talk about their buttons for two minutes, and then introduce Andrew McMahon and Jack’s Mannequin.

When the girls received the response, there was so much screaming, Kaplan said, that she wasn’t certain at first what happened. “It was a primal something,” was how she described it. “Nomi called me screaming and crying like someone died. Then I started screaming,” Caroline explained.

The next day they purchased their plane tickets.

Nomi and Caroline made Be Positive T-shirts to wear to the concert and give to McMahon. “It was overwhelming,” said Nomi of sharing a stage with McMahon. “It was like, ‘Oh my God, it’s the second time he’s performing [since the diagnosis] and we’re on stage with him!’”

McMahon appreciates their efforts, which will now include T-shirt sales. “It was a real inspiration to have Nomi and Caroline at the benefit,” the singer told NJ Jewish News through his publicity agent. “The support I’ve gotten from my fans throughout my battle with leukemia has been a constant source of motivation for me to get well. It’s incredible to see people go to such great lengths to raise money and awareness for these cancer-related causes after hearing my story.

“The impact of Nomi, Caroline, and the others who participate so generously will be felt by countless sick kids whose illnesses will now have more research dedicated to their cures.”