Young Performer Moni Burkhardt with Founders, Aaron Ableman and Dave Room
This past Friday evening, February 22, 2013, young talent Damoni “Moni” Burkhardt, 11, performed at the launch of Imagination Heals, a program which provides inspiration and positive reinforcement through musical entertainment and the arts at a critical time in an ill child’s life. One of the healing performances showcased at the Beverly Hilton was the musical Pacha’s Pajamas, where Damoni performed a solo of John Lennon’s “Imagine.”
Damoni and her Hollywood Mom Dani Burkhardt were very honored to be a part of such an inspirational event. Damoni shared with HMB, “I am very happy to be part of such a great cause and to be able to bring smiles to so many children’s faces.” Pacha’s Pajamas is the story of a young girl whose magical pajamas transport her to a global festival organized by plants and animals. The musical conveys positive messages about the importance of following one’s dreams, our connection with the natural world and the power of creative expression. Moni’s solo performance can be seen here: http://youtu.be/z8n3c_jTozU
Event sponsors Forever Recovery and Balance Edutainment welcomed celebrity guests of the music, sports, television and film worlds, like Nickelodeon’s Big Time Rush star Kendall Schmidt, Cathy Rigby, Lester Chambers, Jim Brown, Leeza Gibbons, John Savage, Hollywood Yates, Genevieve Goings, Big Vinny, Stephanie Fantauzzi, Q’orianka Kilcher, and NFL All-Pro Receiver Herman Moore.
The evening, hosted by Genevieve Goings (Disney Jr.’s Choo Choo Soul), honored rock soul legend Lester Chambers with the “Butterfly Award” for his outstanding commitment to the Imagination Heals program. The event also honored Discovery Arts, an in-hospital program that brings the arts to children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Cathy Rigby presented Discovery Arts with the first “Imagination Heals Pioneer Award.”
Genevieve Goings was the event host
The finale was a performance of Pacha’s Pajamas featuring Lester Chambers, Agape Youth Choir, author Aaron Ableman (aka A-Natural), Lil JaXe, Ashlie Cortez, Milo McFly, Moni Burkhardt and Jaheem Toombs. Imagination Heals donated 10,000 CDs of “Pacha’s Pajamas,” to seriously ill, hospitalized children.
“It was a really fun event! The Beverly Hilton is amazing and the setup was magical,” Damoni tells HMB of the event, “I had fun making my costume for the performance and made lots of new friends. My manager Cinda Snow (Snow Entertainment) and some of my friends came to watch the show. My favorite part of the night was performing and being in costume and meeting Genevieve Goings from “ChooChoo Soul.”
Every dream-come-true has a heart. In this instance, the dream’s heartbeat is entertainer, author and ecologist Aaron Ableman and his multitalented team of entertainers, musicians, marketing specialists and conservation enthusiasts. “Pacha’s Pajamas” is the culmination of Ableman’s love of helping children and the beginning of a concerted effort to aid in bringing relief and hope to hospitalized children. Inspired by his mother, a nurse, Aaron is a regular visitor at hospitals, performing for kids who both need and deserve a smile.
Moni Burkhardt and host Genevieve Goings(Disney’s Choo Choo Soul)
About BALANCE Edutainment
BALANCE Edutainment is a social enterprise that develops transformational entertainment products for pre-teens, founded by Aaron Ableman and Dave Room. Their flagship project is Pacha’s Pajamas, a Children’s Pop Musical that inspires kids to be superheroes for the planet. The soundtrack features 55 artists spanning four generations including Yasiin Bey aka Mos Def (Yo Gabba Gabba, The Boondocks, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe), Cheech Marin (The Lion King, Cars, Beverly Hills Chihuahua), Talib Kweli, Majora Carter (Peabody Award winning public-radio series The Promised Land), Lyrics Born, Lester Chambers (The Chambers Brothers), Agape Youth Choir and a dozen youth stars including Lil JaXe and Ta’Kaiya Blaney. Founders Ableman and Room have pledged that an amount equal to at least 50% the profits distributed to founders will go to charitable causes and to the seeding of social enterprises.
Big Ups to Moni! I heard there were a lot of watery eyes when she sang Imagine.
Such a great event, it was great!!!