Singing for a Sustainable Future While Raising Awareness of Climate Change
At the beginning of the pandemic, Stef Moore and five other high school girls in the San Francisco Bay area decided they wanted to do something uplifting for the many people who had been in isolation. Stef came up with the idea to produce singing telegrams, “Songrams,” while in her high school choir class.
Once the group was together and solidified the plan, they began marketing it in their community and started getting requests. Just as they were about to go out and deliver their first in-person Songram, California went into another lockdown. Moore said, “I felt bad for everyone who had already been feeling isolated and I thought of my elderly neighbor who had not left home for 8 months. So I came up with the idea of transitioning our model into e-cards. With e-cards, people could connect with friends and family living anywhere in the world without the uncertainty of Covid-19.”
Once the e-cards and website were ready to go, the group reached out to Rainforest Trust, an organization that, with its partners, has more than 34 million acres of land around the globe in conservation protection. Moore added, “We wanted to use Songrams to connect people during the pandemic, light up people’s lives and also raise awareness about a global cause that we feel passionate about—climate change.” The website home page says, “Songrams, singing for a sustainable future.”
Moore continued, “In our science class, we’ve learned about climate change and how the rainforests are vital for our Earth, yet they continue to be destroyed. We decided to link Songrams with Rainforest Trust because it buys land and works with local organizations to protect rainforests.”
Songrams are free with a suggested donation to Rainforest Trust, a 501(c)3. Each greeting card is personalized. It contains a video introduction by the Songram team, a personalized written message from the sender and the selected song. Links to songs can be found on the website page. All of this is framed in a traditional e-card.
Click on the image to listen to a sample of Count on Me by Bruno Mars.
“We’re getting a good number of orders,” Moore added. “I would think people support Songrams because they also believe in the importance of caring for each other and the environment. Lucky for us, that also means affirming a handful of high school singers.”
For more information or to order a Songram, go to www.songrams.com. To learn more about the Rainforest Trust, visit www.rainforesttrust.org.