Hard Rock Cafe Donates $5,000 to Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health
To start off the New Year on a positive note, Hard Rock Cafe Las Vegas Strip donated a $5,000 grant to Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health to support its Music Therapy Program (Photo credit: Rocky Montez-Carr).
Pictured: Jasmine Sligh, Program Manager of Caregiver and Community Education for Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health; Dr. Becky Wellman, Director of the Music Therapy Program for Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health; Christopher Thompson, Assistant General Manager, Hard Rock Cafe Las Vegas Strip; Dr. Jeffrey Cummings, Director of Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health; Lisa Hendrixson, Sales & Marketing Manager, Hard Rock Cafe Las Vegas Strip; and Verla Niebuhr, Administrative Assistant, Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health.
The Music Therapy Program helps those suffering from neurodegenerative diseases recall memories, reduce stress and improve relationships through music. Hard Rock International and its charitable arm, the Hard Rock Heals Foundation, selected Hard Rock Cafe Las Vegas Strip out of over 200 Hard Rock properties around the world to receive this grant to support its local community.
Hard Rock Cafe Las Vegas Strip donated an acoustic guitar as well as the $5,000 grant, box lunches for event attendees (many were Music Therapy patients and their caregivers) and arranged a performance by Betsy Holm, local singer/songwriter and frequent performer at Hard Rock Cafe Las Vegas Strip’s Acoustic Breakfast.
The Hard Rock Heals Foundation is a global charity that believes music is the most universal medicine in existence. The foundation’s motto, Love.Amplifed., seeks to inspire us all to turn up the volume and deliver the message that lives can be improved through the power of music. The Hard Rock Heals Foundation provides grants and assistance to music-centric, health and wellness programs worldwide. All funds raised through Hard Rock’s various philanthropic efforts at cafes, hotels, casinos and other venues are used to support global and local efforts that tie closely to Hard Rock’s greatest brand differentiator – music.
Complimenting excellent patient care, the Music Therapy Program is part of the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health’s support and educational services, which are free and open to the public. Music therapy has numerous benefits for those impacted by brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis, providing opportunities for memory recall, reducing stress, improving communication skills and enhancing social and emotional connections with family and caregivers. The weekly program encourages caregivers to bring their loved ones to a class setting led by a licensed music therapist to sing and play music, while interacting with those around them through melodies.