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Music Fights Back, one punch at a time

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Did you know... The Music Fights Back Foundation logo, designed by Kaci George was inspired by the movie “Fight Club?”

Jeremy Cuff (right) and Julie Simon (left) help Shaun Mohs fight back with a new iPod. Shaun, 9, is currently working through his second battle with a brain tumor, but with the support of the MFL MarMac community. (Photo submitted)

By Caitlin Bittner

On Aug. 27, a gauntlet will be thrown and a battle will begin. From noon to midnight, music will throw a few punches in cancer’s direction thanks to Jeremy Cuff and the Music Fights Back Foundation.
“It started because I had cancer in 2014. I was kind of down in the dumps, and one of the things I would do on the way to treatment was listen to music,” said Cuff. “During that time, I had a lot of people who supported me. This is my way of giving back. And, me being a  musician, I wanted to take music and use it to help people.”

Last year, during the first Music Fights Back event, the group was hoping to raise enough money to donate 10 to 12 iPods to people with cancer. But, due to overwhelming support, the organization was able to raise enough money to purchase and give away 20 iPods.

“I wanted to do iPod Touches because its not only music, but there are also apps and people can communicate with their families and friends,” said Cuff.

The 20 iPods, although they were available to all, were given to children from Wisconsin, Iowa, Washington, Ohio and Florida. “We try to give them to all people, but most adults say ‘no,’ because they’d rather the kids have them,” explained Cuff.

But, Cuff also noted that it wasn’t that easy to get the iPods to the children at first. Due to health insurance privacy rules, they couldn’t approach hospital patients directly. Instead, they had to provide the details to the hospitals and then the patients could contact the organization if interested.

“We had the money for the iPods, but we were stuck until (we met with) Kelli Boylen and her (late) son Samson, (who later died from complications with the treatment of leukemia). We went to visit him when he was in the hospital and gave him an iPod. Then, after the first [Facebook] post, it just started snowballing, and we had kids from all over.”

In addition to recipients, Cuff was pleased to see area communities were willing to jump on the bandwagon too. “They’re helping a lot with T-shirt sponsorships.”

Outside of the community, Cuff said the foundation is receiving a lot of grant support, as well as a promise to match the amount of iPods donated. “We’re hoping to raise enough money for 40 iPods, and then with the match from Apple, we could donate 80 iPods.”

The event will be held at the Jaycees Pavilion on St. Feriole Island, and promises a family-friendly atmosphere. With activities like human foosball, a bean bag tournament, an obstacle course, a bounce house, raffles, you’ll have plenty to keep you busy between eating pizza and barbecue.

The 12-hour event is slated to provide tons of family-fun and musical entertainment. Four bands will take the stage throughout the day. At noon, Viroqua’s The Noble Surfers will play. At 2:45 p.m., Under the Gun will add even more rock and roll to the atmosphere. American Standard will continue to rock with a genre-spanning selection of classic and alternative rock at 5:45 p.m. Then, at 10 p.m., the New Black Seven, a Country band will rattle the spotlights.

In the coming weeks, Cuff said he’s excited to start seeing signs for the event  around town, courtesy of Frank Distribution.

Cuff is also hoping to recruit a few more volunteers for the week of the event. “If anyone wants to help, give me a call at (608) 518-1300 or go to the Music Fights Back Foundation Facebook page and send us a personal message.”

In the future, Cuff will continue his work with partner and foundation vice president, Julie Simon. “We’re working on building a website and getting a web store set up, as well as a sponsorship for iPods if anyone wants to donate money for an iPod at another time of year.”

“Our goal is to get every patient an iPod, and to make this event bigger and bigger. I want to turn it into a festival,” said Cuff, who is looking at moving the event to June next year.

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