Our holiday fundaising focus for 2007 was on children in need. $900 was raised through the combination of our second annual NESP holiday ornament sale and an online silent auction for Taylor Hicks autographed items. The funds were donated to the Breakwater Teen Homeless Project and other children in need. The Breakwater Teen Shelter in Camden, ME provides a safe place to stay for youth between the ages of 10 to 17. The shelter is a low barrier shelter, meaning that barriers are lowered for youth to access the program and the shelter is not a 24-hour shelter. The shelter is part of the Breakwater Teen Homeless Project. The project provides guidance to homeless youth and youth at-risk of being homeless to help them realize their potential and opportunities. For more information on the program, you can visit Home Counselors Inc. - Breakwater Teen Shelter.

For each of Taylor's New England shows in the Summer of 2007, NESP chose a local charity for which to raise funds and awareness. The charities that were chosen were: A Baby Center on Cape Cod; The Rhode Island Food Bank; Sprial Arts in Portland, ME; The Warner Theater in Torrington, CT; and The Concord Family Y in Concord, NH.

Thanks to the generosity of NESPers and other Soul Patrollers around the country, our summer charity efforts were a great success.

As part of our Hampton Beach show festivities, NESP held the First Annual Mullet Toss Fundraiser to benefit Studio by the Tracks. Studio by the Tracks is a non-profit organization, formed in 1989, to provide free art classes to special needs adults and emotionally conflicted children.

On the afternoon of the show, NESPers gathered on Hampton Beach in front of the Hampton Beach Casino ballroom, to throw "mullets" for distance. For those of you who are unaware of what a mullet is, it's a kind of fish found worldwide in coastal temperate and tropical waters. Mullet tosses, using real mullets, are held at the Flor-Bama Lounge, a place Taylor used to play.

NESP members pre-purchased a mullet toss package which included a t-shirt, purple mardi gras beads, and a "mullet." The fundraiser was held in conjunction with Soul Patrol Relief. A total of $420 was raised from the Mullet Toss. A slient auction was also held for a Taylor signed copy of the mullet toss t-shirt graphic.

One of the highlights of the afternoon was when our PR Coodinator, Karen, met with Taylor and got him to sign a mullet.

The NESP has made its first, official, Sharing Our Soul Donation. A donation of $30 was made to Soul Patrol Relief - Project Musicians' Village in honor of Taylor's 30th birthday.

Musicians' Villiage is a Habitat for Humanity Project to build 81 Habitat-constructed homes for displaced New Orleans musicians. Its centerpiece will be the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music, dedicated to the education and development of homeowners and others who will live nearby. Visit Habitat for Humanity for more information on this project.

Most Soul Patrollers will agree that they have been touched by an incredible life force that has made a significant change in their lives. For many of us, it has awakened our souls to the need around us, and the abilities we have both personally and financially to make a difference.

When you come together as a group, anything is possible. And so, with this in mind, NESP has undertaken "Sharing our Soul," a charity program. Throughout the year, NESP will look for worthy charities in New England with whom we can "share our soul." Our plan is to find charities in the New England locations where Taylor performs, and to coordinate holiday fundraising efforts.If you have suggestions for a local charity, please contact Liz or Tricia.