Here’s today’s dispatch from the crossroads of faith, media and culture.

Kindness, in the key of “i”: If you have an iPod you no longer use or need, you might want to consider giving it to the Broadway Alzheimer’s iPod Drive. The donated devices will go to facilities that care for those suffering from memory disease (i.e. Alzheimer’s or dementia). The project, aimed at using personalized music to stimulate memories, is a collaboration between Allegro (the official publication of the New York City musicians’ union) and the non-profit group Music & Memory.

Music and Memory, BTW, is the subject of the buzzed-about documentary Alive Inside set to debut this fall. This trailer for the film has been viewed over seven million times

Music & Memory was founded by former Department of Education consultant Dan Cohen in 2008. That’s when he distributed 200 iPods in four New York City facilities. Noting that the residents experienced increased socialization and engagement after listening to the songs of their youth, his efforts expanded. His organization now provides iPods to  more than 50 nursing homes across the US.

“Music & Memory feels like a natural fit for the Broadway community, who can really grasp and appreciate the power of music,” says Dave Roth, a Broadway musician and ambassador for the Alzheimer’s Association. “There are so many old iPods or music devices sitting around in drawers. When we put just one of those in the hands of someone suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia, it breathes new life into them and really becomes a beautiful cause.”

HOW TO DONATE – Mail your iPods and digital music devices to one of the below addresses (with “Broadway Alzheimer’s iPod Drive” in the memo line):

Broadway Alzheimer’s iPod Drive
Alzheimer’s Association NYC Chapter
360 Lexington Avenue, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10017

Broadway Alzheimer’s iPod Drive
American Federation of Musicians Local 802
Public Relations Office
322 West 48th Street
New York, NY 10036

The Broadway Alzheimer’s iPod Drive runs through August 19.  For more on the ongoing efforts of Music & Memory click here.

Encourage one another and build each other up – 1 Thessalonians 5:11