I recently experienced the trauma of evacuation alert for one of California’s fires. After racing to dress, pack our bags and load our vehicles, preparing our 95-year-old friend and helping her and her daughter select some can’t-live-without valuables, we were exhausted. For two days after the threat passed, I still felt like I was moving as if under water—not only because we woke up to smoke at 3 am, either. Imagine how the firefighters must feel after so many days and too many fires. How grateful we are for their skill and fierceness, loyalty and hard work. Uplifters are magic makers.

Force For Good’s monthly newsletter, The Inspirer, and blog posts throughout the year, celebrate uplifters and their stories in conjunction with our Passions CD, debuting February 2020. FFG will release one film a month: Each musical composition on Passions has a corresponding film that presents an urgent global need and uplifters who inspire us to take action. You can watch the trailers for Harmony and Ice here! But first, as 2019 goes holiday on us, we’ll introduce our FFG team. This month you’ll discover one of our inspirers, Rodney Whittenberg, and see how he makes magic by paying attention: to the people he meets, to their needs, and then conjuring creative projects that fulfill their dreams—and his.

Let’s give thanks every day, not just on Thanksgiving, for all the uplifters in our life.

Hillary Black, Editor, The Inspirer

Force For Good’s founder, Jonathan Sprout, has been inspiring others for more than 35 years. His Grammy®-nominated music, high-energy concerts and personal commitment to empower others has fueled an award-studded educational children’s music career that has touched thousands of lives and includes more than 6500 lifetime performances and 12 original albums. His American Heroes series—featuring multi-layered instrumentation and engaging musical biographies of outstanding men and women—teaches kids the differences between celebrities and heroes.

Sprout says his desire to ignite positive change has always been strong. In fact, it was after reading a nationwide poll detailing children’s top 10 heroes, “which included cartoon characters and several professional athletes whose off-field antics were anything but heroic,” Sprout asked the question: “Who are our real heroes and why are we not teaching our children about their importance?” 

Force For Good: Music that Makes a Difference

Singer-songwriter Sprout says his dedication to “shining a light on uplifters” has naturally evolved into Force For Good. “Inspired by the heroes’ exemplary lives, many fighting for social justice and reforms, I found a growing desire to focus more on the actual issues,” Sprout says. While he is “allowing the process to unfold” as he expands his horizons (including his fulfilling a long-desired goal to play piano), in his customary immersive style, Sprout is propelling this new project by expanding his artists’ palette: creating original piano compositions and corresponding films—each telling a story to illuminate a pressing global concern. Perhaps Sprout’s Lullabies for a New Age foretold this transition. In her review of the CD, Lynne Heffley wrote “A synthesized mix of new age music and simple lyrics… (including) soothing instrumentals, ending with a beautiful tune aptly called ‘Peace.’” (Los Angeles Times).

Force For Good’s first album, Passions, will be released February 2020. Beginning every month following, Sprout plans to reveal one of the topical films he’s created for each instrumental composition. He hopes other organizations will find ways to integrate these inspirational pieces into their work and to help bring awareness to many worthy causes, individuals and groups of note. It seems that Sprout’s personal passions are summarized in Force For Good’s mission statement: “Our mission is to inspire and empower people. We create uplifting music and films that encourage personal and global well-being, happiness and respect for the environment. We are optimists who promote peace, safety, equality, and compassion for all.” In a time of increasing tensions and challenges, Jonathan Sprout’s work inspires introspection, action and hope.