NEEDHAM [April 26, 2007] - On Saturday, June 9, nineteen teen bands participating in the Needham-based Plugged In Teen Band Program will make their debut public performances at Rock the Cradle of Love: a concert benefiting the CJ Foundation for SIDS, a charity selected by the Plugged In teens. Plugged In is the only local band program for teens emphasizing the importance of using music to make positive change in the world. Each term, students are placed together in bands, learning how to work together as a unit and developing songwriting and performance skills. At the end of each term, all of the Plugged In teen bands make their debut public performances at a concert benefiting a charity selected by the kids.

Plugged In employs a strict teaching philosophy that accentuates no competition or judgment. "At a time when criticism and humiliation are seen as acceptable coaching methods, Plugged In emphasizes a compassionate and respectful environment where students feel safe taking creative risks," explains Sandra Rizkallah, co-founder of the program with her husband, Tom Pugh.

The CJ Foundation for SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) is a national charitable organization dedicated to recognizing the special needs of the SIDS community through funding SIDS research, support services, and public awareness programs. The Foundation hopes to increase public awareness of SIDS and to contribute to a future in which no parent is faced with the tragedy of losing a loved one to the syndrome. Joel and Susan Hollander created the CJ Foundation in 1994 in memory of their daughter, Carly Jenna.

The Plugged In concert on June 9 will take place in two acts. Joining the Plugged In teen bands will be Bongo Love, a band from Zimbabwe who became affiliated with the program following last January's Plugged In concert benefiting the Elias Fund, which provides funding for the education of underprivileged students in Zimbabwe. Bongo Love first visited the Needham-based program in 2006, in a visit arranged and coordinated by Rizkallah and Pugh.

Plugged In teens performing at the June 9 benefit concert are from Acton, Ashland, Belmont, Brookline, Dover, Framingham, Franklin, Hopkinton, Holbrook, Medfield, Millis, Natick, Needham, Newton, North Chelmsford, Sherborn, Somerville, Wellesley, West Roxbury, Weston, and Westwood.

Previous Plugged In concerts have benefited organizations including Seeds of Peace, which brings together Arab and Jewish teenagers to learn conflict resolution skills and develop trust and empathy; the Tobacco Free Mass Coalition; The I Love Music Foundation, established by Boston Celtic Walter McCarty to promote music opportunities for Boston youth; the Cam Neely Foundation for Cancer Care; the Tsunami aid organization Music for Relief; Amnesty International, the Elias Fund, providing financial support for the education of underprivileged youth in Zimbabwe, and the African AIDS organization Keep a Child Alive.

Tickets are $10 for students and $20 for adults, and can be purchased in advance by sending a check to Plugged In, 146 Warren Street, Needham, MA 02492 or at the door on the day of the show.

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For more information about the Plugged In Teen Band program, please visit www.pluggedinband.org or call 781/956-4281. For more information about the CJ Foundation, please visit www.cjsids.com.

For press inquiries, contact Chris Kelly, Fifth House Public Relations, at 617/532-0574 or ckelly@fifthhousepr.com.

The Plugged In Teen Band Program was established in 2002 by Tom Pugh and Sandra Rizkallah. Pugh, a Berklee alumni and musician for thirty years, is the music director for Plugged In. He is a member of two Boston-based bands and has played at the Montreal Jazz Festival. He has also been an engineer at WGBH in Boston for more than twenty years. Sandra Rizkallah has a degree in film and television from Emerson College, has produced her own documentaries, and has worked in the post-production department of Nova at WGBH.