RM24,000 raised for the orang utans!!!!

Benchmarx and Popshuvit band members raising funds for the orangutans!

Rockin' for the Environment was featured on NTV7, BFM 89.9, HITZFM 104.9, The Star, NST, Malay Mail, Junk, Klue, Kakiseni.com and had 10,000 flyers distributed to the Bangsar, Hartamas, Mont Kiara, Damansara areas. Did you hear Kenny talk about Rockin for the Environment on radio? Listen to it here:

The Benchmarx rockin' for the environment

The Orang Utan Appeal UK stall - almost 40 successful adoptions have been processed!!
(Photo credit: QLP Photography)

Colourful reusable bags for sale @ Tiny Tapir's stall!

Sponsor, Tiny Tapir's sustainable living products were a hit! From reusable bags to collapsible bottles, mama home-made reusable diapers and Paul Penders natural shampoos. Support our sponsor by clicking on their site!
(Photo credit: QLP Photography)

Ida Lisa supporting the cause with three songs

Daymien performs at the open mic segment

The very popular Yuna stunning the crowd who yearned for more!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XecL0T_gOUE

In awe...

New band, Mustard performs songs from their recently released EP

Steve Northcott of Benchmarx, getting the girls to sing Malaysia Boleh! From left to right: Hayley Bagnall and Sarah from Orang Utan Appeal UK, Jasmine Low from Go International Group / Doppelganger kl and celebrity emcee Rina Omar

That's Noah Jackson, writer/photographer showing photos from his Forest Voices project.

Gerai OA sold products made by indigenous people of Malaysia. 100% of proceeds go back to the people. How cool is that! Thanks to Reita and her team!

Five States of Mind - a band comprising of school teachers from ISKL and Mont Kiara Intl School

The ladies from Money-Back-Guarantee Fruit Shop clapping to the tunes of Yuna... A donation box was passed around and RM230 went towards the Orang Utan Appeal UK fund!

The Go Green Tree

The Go Green Tree of Wishes received almost 200 messages! We've uploaded the messages on our website, so click here to read what people said about the environment ;)

Day 3: Sunday 19 April 2009 @ SohoKL
YUNA amazing the crowd with her simple uncluttered voice

Day 2: Sat 18 April 2009 @ SohoKL
Freeloaders Inc perform at the Doppelganger KL Open Mic stage

Day 1: 17 April 2009 @ Little Havana
Jasmine pictured here with the Sarah and Hayley of the Orangutan Appeal at the charity concert feat. Benchmarx and Popshuvit. What an amazing performance by both bands!!! Also, huge call out of thanks to Rina Omar for emceeing the evening!

Hello there everyone! If you didn't have a chance to join us last weekend at the event, what a miss! Well, it's still not too late to contribute to the appeal. Just visit http://www.orangutan-appeal.org.uk. In fact, what we learnt from this Earth Week experience (btw, it's Earth Day on 22 Apr!!!! do something!) is that most people either can't be bothered, don't care or pretend to care about wanting to do something for the environment. That's possibly cos there are other things in their mind. But that said, there are also a bunch of people who exude it. They live, eat and breathe eco-friendliness. Being green is truly a lifestyle. So sometimes, these lifestyle changes may take time. I'm a true believer that people will care if it affects them. So if each one of us is able to just take on ONE MESSAGE - whatever it is, and spread that around each time like a disease, it will work. NEVER SAY NEVER AND NEVER SAY ALWAYS. NEVER SAY WHAT'S THE POINT (like some article I read recently in a popular newspaper). BECAUSE THE POINT IS, IF YOU START TO CARE, THAT'S ALREADY ONE MORE PERSON. cheers to 50sen beers! see you again next year and 3 cheers to the Benchmarxers for initiating such a cool project like Rockin for the Environment!
Where is the money going?

As of today (latest update 26 April 2009), over RM21,000 has been raised. According to Hayley Bagnall of the Orang Utan Appeal UK, monies raised would be spent towards the following:

- Sponsorship of a new junior vet to Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre

- Upkeep of the Appeal's 4x4 orangutan rescue vehicle

- Malaria prevention: treatments including blood tests & medication for orangutans

- Equipment for the Appeal's 'Post-Release Orangutan Monitoring Project' in Tabin (a protected rainforest reserve - twice the size of Singapore!) eg. waterproof clipboards; whistles; GPS mapping unit & orangutan food (lots of bananas!)

Thank you ;)

Doppelganger Gig Updates:

Where to next? As we gear up for the second half of the year, those interested to perform should email openmickl@gmail.com. We've got several gigs coming up - mostly acoustic shows, an electric show, an indie jazz & blues gig and even a concert!!! So keep us updated on your thoughts on the scene, tell us what you like, don't like. Who you want to see perform etc. Catch ya at the next one!



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Source: MALAY MAIL

Orangutan on their minds
By Anu Vengopal
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009 05:43:00

Benchmarx doing their stint at the event

MONT KIARA played host in raising awareness and support for the Orangutan Appeal UK at the Rockin’ For The Environment green festival last Saturday and Sunday.

The musical extravaganza organised by GO International Group Sdn Bhd and its community project Doppelganger Open Mic presented two days of art, music and environmental education at SohoKL in Solaris Mont Kiara, Bukit Kiara, Kuala Lumpur.

The event saw expatriate rock group Benchmarx, local musicians like Yunar, George Wong, and Funkcoustic join forces (and voices) with non-governmental organisations Malaysian Nature Society and Forest Voices to raise funds for Orangutan Appeal UK.

The festival, focusing on animal and environmental conservation awareness combined Eco-Fair Bazaar, environmental talks by Noah Jackson, writer and photographer, Forest Voices, and sustainable living choices by Tiny Tapir.

The Malaysian Nature Society also conducted recycle paper making workshops while Gerai Orang Asal, Orangutan Appeal UK had their stalls there.

The programme held to commemorate Earth Week was initiated by five expatriate school teachers who make up rock band Benchmarx, and raise funds for conservation and environmental education-oriented NGOs in Malaysia.

Spokesman for the band Kenny Peavy, a science teacher at the International School of Kuala Lumpur, said the band strongly believes that Malaysians are not as environmentally friendly as they could be.

“There is a lot of work to be done in Malaysia to promote environmentally friendly lifestyle, starting from kampung to the government,” he said.

Kenny and his band contributed to past environmental projects, raising RM7,000 for Sea Turtle Research Unit (now known as Turtle Research and Rehabilitation Group) for Turtle Rock in 2007 and RM12,000 for MyCat.

This year they hope to raise even more to help Orangutan Appeal UK to raise awareness of the need to protect Borneo’s charming red apes. For those who missed the chance for some good acoustic music and eco-friendly tips, it’s still not to late.

Visit www.orangutan-appeal.org.uk to learn more about the Orangutan Appeal UK and contribute to the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre in Sabah.

-Ends.