Laken originally moved to Nashville to work in the music business. After 2 years of working in video production, Laken made a dramatic career change when her younger brother was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. Laken’s brother, Charlie, asked her to help him establish and run a charity to help young people with cancer. Thus, the LiveLovely Foundation was formed.

The LiveLovely Foundation was established on January 1, 2009. Since that day, LiveLovely has raised over $30,000 for research initiatives focusing on improving care for adolescents and young adults (people within the ages of 15-40), an age group with low survival rates that have seen little improvement in the last 30 years.

Through its fundraising efforts, The LiveLovely Foundation was able to provide the $25,000 Charlie Lovely Cancer Research Grant to Vanderbilt University Medical Center to support a study working to improve survival rates among young cancer patients. LiveLovely assists families of childhood cancer patients by helping pay for medical bills and sending LiveLovely care packages.

Laken and her brother also turned his journals from his experience with cancer into a book, Through Charlie’s Eyes. The book has been an excellent advocacy tool; inspiring other young people to focus their passion on God and, through Him, help others. Laken is pursuing a law degree to increase her ability to improve her community and help others, specifically in the health care field.

To learn more about Belmont, visit: www.BELMONT.edu

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In the middle of life’s challenges, there’s nothing more precious than the gift of hope. When that gift is wrapped in infectious melodies and laced with uplifting, substantive lyrics, it becomes a powerful blessing. “A Beautiful Life,” the new album by Curb Records band, MIKESCHAIR is such a gift.

Fusing messages of hope with anthemic pop/rock has become MIKESCHAIR’s calling card and it served the young band well on their self-titled Curb debut album. The project spawned such memorable singles as “Let the Waters Rise” and “Can’t Take Away,” which helped earn the group four Dove Award nominations in 2010, including song of the year for “Let the Waters Rise” and rock contemporary song for “Can’t Take Away.” In 2011, MIKESCHAIR again received four nods, among them group of the year and pop contemporary song for “Keep Changing the World.”

Chart success and industry accolades are nice, but that’s not what brought the young musicians together at Nashville’s Belmont University. It all began one night when Grayson was writing a song with a friend and Jesse Hale, a Tyler, Texas native who lived across the hall, asked if he could bring his violin and join in. The group slowly expanded as Sam Tinnesz heard Hale and Grayson recording a tune they’d written and soon joined in. Tinnesz is an Air Force brat, who had been living in Atlanta before moving to Music City. Grayson, who grew up in Orlando, was the only member who lived on a different floor at Belmont, but he could always be found hanging out, making music in his friend’s room.

“We were focused because we all had a passion for music,” says Grayson, recalling how they submitted a demo for Belmont’s Christian Music Showcase. Freshmen are rarely awarded those coveted performance slots, but MIKESCHAIR became an exception. “Our very first show as a band was that showcase,” Grayson recalls. “There were 1200 students and we were nervous beyond belief, but one of the judges looked at us after that showcase and said, ‘No matter what, don’t break up.’ It’s just funny how sometimes in moments of doubt, those words still come back.”

Grayson, Tinnesz and Hale are founding members of the band and three years ago, they added another Belmont alumni to the brotherhood with the addition of Nate Onstott. Though they love music, each member of MIKESCHAIR admits it’s about so much more. “We all really have this desire to be involved in ministry,” Hale says. “We are obviously all really passionate about music, but we always want it to be about something more. We saw that we all had the same heart for this and then God just kept opening doors.”

The band inked a deal with Curb Records and their debut album was quickly embraced by fans, and industry gatekeepers. MIKESCHAIR soon became one of the most successful new acts in Christian music with their debut album receiving rave reviews and award nominations. Such early success can be a double- edged sword. Some young musicians become creatively paralyzed in recording their second album as they worry about the dreaded “sophomore slump.” “There’s definitely like a lot of things that go through your mind when you are thinking about a second record,” Tinnesz says.

Grayson agrees. “I honestly feel like we put more pressure on ourselves because we knew night after night we are the ones that are going to have to play and sing this music. We knew that we wanted every song to be something we felt we could communicate and be passionate about. That’s a lot of pressure.”

“A Beautiful Life” was the first song written for the new album and then other songs came tumbling forth. “Love Won’t Quit on Us” is a buoyant pop anthem with an uplifting message and sing-along chorus.“Pieces” is an atmospheric rocker with a vulnerable lyric about surrendering the pieces of a broken life to God. “All For You” is a powerful worship song. “We really wanted this record to feel like we’re all in this together and we’re all trying to figure this out together, and that’s everything from the hard times to the declarations of faith,” says Hale. “ ‘All For You’ says ‘Lord, I’m going to set aside this time. This is all for You.”

   A Beautiful Life is a vibrant collection of songs that uplift and inspire while truthfully acknowledging the difficulties along life’s journey. “You Loved Me First” reminds us of the love of Jesus. “You gave your life to prove to me what I was worth,” sings Grayson in the compelling tune. The first single, “Someone Worth Dying For,” also serves to affirm each person’s value in the kingdom of God.

Matt Bronleewe, whose writing and/or production credits include Jars of Clay, Plumb, Michael W. Smith and Natalie Imbruglia, produced A Beautiful Life. “Matt is a creative genius,” says Tinnesz. He challenged us in amazing ways. We feel like he helped take us to the next level, we loved working with him.”

Tinnesz wrote one of the album’s most compelling moments with the song “Come Alive.” “When I started writing that song, it wasn’t for MIKESCHAIR. It wasn’t intended for the world. It was just for me.” Tinnesz confesses. “I happened to be flipping through pictures of my dad and mom from when I was a little kid when the song came. My dad passed away when I was eight-years-old and in that moment, I felt the pain and all the weight of my dad passing away come on me all at once and it stuck with me. I reached a point where I needed to write about myself, for myself, and get the pain out. I just needed to let the emotion happen.”

MIKESCHAIR has experienced a great deal since the release of their debut album. Not only have they toured extensively, they’ve also maintained their heart for missions to work and be involved with the international relief agencies such as Food for the Hungry and Buckner International; organizations that help at risk orphans. The band members have traveled abroad to Haiti with Food for the Hungry and to South & Central America with Buckner International “The Lord has opened some really cool doors for us personally to continue to serve further. One particular effort that we have had the privilege of being part of has been a radio partnered shoe-drive where we helped collect thousands of pairs of shoes,” says Grayson. “We were able to personally take them over to orphanages in Peru, Guatemala and Honduras. We went to wash feet and put brand new shoes on those kids. That is the story of A Beautiful Life. While there, we saw situations that seem hopeless. There are desperate, poor children without families who were abandoned, yet we saw these kids smiling and we heard them sing about Jesus. That’s the picture of A Beautiful Life that we wanted to capture.”

The members of MIKESCHAIR have matured from college-graduates-turned-recording artists to young men with a firm understanding of their calling and renewed passion for changing lives through music. “We feel very strongly that the music we’re writing is important and people need to hear it,” says Grayson. “I can’t tell you how many touching stories we’ve heard over the last few years. One I often remember was a man in Missouri who came up to me after a show and said, ‘I want to thank you. My kids have a father today because your song came on the radio at the right time.’ He was actually contemplating suicide and because of ‘Let The Water Rise’ the Lord just spoke to him so clearly in that moment. That’s why we do what we do.”

“We wanted this record to take a very hopeful approach,” says Grayson. “We’re not denying the tragic and devastating things that are happening in the world around us because there is so much that is hard and difficult, but we decided to call the record A Beautiful Life because our whole objective is to say that even in our brokenness, even in our mess, God is weaving together a beautiful life whether we can see it or not. We might not see the whole picture right now, we might just get to see certain colors, but God is seeing the whole thing. We wanted to encourage people, to acknowledge where they are, and say ‘we know this is hard, but there is more.”

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Joyce Espy Searcy is a native of Yazoo City, Miss. She is the new Director of Community Relations at Belmont University.

A graduate of both Fisk and Vanderbilt Universities, Joyce is the recipient of the prestigious Athena Award for 2008. In Nashville, the Athena Award is considered the highest award recognizing the achievements of business women. During the summer of 2008, Joyce attended Harvard Business School’s “Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management” on a full scholarship.

Joyce is the current secretary of the Board of Trustees for Leadership Nashville, immediate past president of the New Level Community Development Corporation, and co-chaired the 2008-09 Nashville Chamber Education Report Card committee. Joyce is currently serving as vice president of Full Circle and is a member of the Metro Nashville Library Board of Directors.

Joyce has been the Vice President for Mid-States for the YWCA of the USA and recently completed a term on the National Board for Girl Scouts of the USA. She has received numerous other community recognitions from the Women’s Fund of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, ACLU, Nashville Conference of Christian and Jews, Alpha Kappa Alpha Regional “Member of the Year”, Tennessee State University’s Women of Legend and Merit, Vanderbilt University’s Scholar “Prophetarium” (Community Leader of the Year), and Nashville Scene has named her a “Nashville Saint”.

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Dr. Bernard Turner is an Assistant Professor, Social Entrepreneurship and Director, Center for Social Entrepreneurship and Service-Learning at Belmont University. He has been affiliated with one of the Alliance’s member agencies, the Center for Nonprofit Management in Nashville for 20 years. He conducts grant writing workshops, public and customized, for area nonprofits. He is a federal grant reviewer for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and consultant to a local foundation, Baptist Healing Trust.  His career also includes economic development positions working with minority and women-owned businesses. He has experience conducting organizational assessments and other training and technical assistance to nonprofits as well as program development. He is currently the Board President for the American Association of Grant Professionals. His academic qualifications include an Ed.D. in Leadership and Professional Development, an MA in Philanthropy and Development, an MBA in Organizational Development, and a BS in Business Administration for four different universities

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As a member and financial planner for all Enactus (formerly known as SIFE) projects, Ayesha has a head for business and a heart for serving.

At the Enactus World Cup 2012, where more than 3,000 students, educators and business leaders converged, Belmont University was named champion from an initial field of national champion university teams representing 38 countries. (www.enactus.org)

She is also a board member of PhilanthroTeach; a non profit which  strives to provide unemployed and economically disadvantaged citizens with free workshops in a variety of career and technical education subjects, including three primary skill sets identified by the ACT as critical to 77% of all jobs: reading for information, applied mathematics, locating infromation. Additional job readiness workshops include finding “work with purpose”, communication skills, resume writing, interview coaching, conflict resolution, budgeting and financial literacy, networking, self-marketing pitches, applications and applying online, etc…

At the Enactus World Cup 2012, where more than 3,000 students, educators and business leaders converged, Belmont University was named champion from an initial field of national champion university teams representing 38 countries. (www.enactus.org)

Through Enactus, students around the world are discovering that creating progress through entrepreneurial action can be accomplished throughout university and career. More than 500 global business leaders assembled at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center September 30 – October 2 to evaluate the outreach projects of the national champion teams, judging how successfully they’ve used business solutions to create economic opportunity for others.

Among the award-winning outreach projects conducted by the Belmont Enactus team was Spring Back Recycling (http://www.springbackrecycling.com/), a non-profit that was formed to break down mattresses and build up lives. Formed in 2011 as a partnership between the Enactus team and Belmont Church, Spring Back provides sustainable employment and small business training for formerly homeless or incarcerated men while striving to protect the environment by offering retailers, institutions, and consumers an economical alternative to dumping used mattresses in landfills. By recycling 100% of each of more than 15,000 mattresses, Spring Back has diverted 550,000 pounds of solid waste from landfills.

“Enactus is a breakthrough in higher education that inspires university students from around the globe to create innovative solutions that tackle real-world problems,” says Doug McMillon, President & CEO, Walmart International and member of the Enactus board. “These incredible students are paving the way for the next generation of socially responsible business leaders who understand that sustainable business solutions are a tool for positive change.”

The Enactus World Cup 2012 marked the first time the U.S. Department of State has partnered on the event; KPMG was the presenting sponsor.

A few examples of the Belmont ENACTUS’s team projects are as follows:

• Developed the concept and business plan to start Spring Back Recycling (a nonprofit business partnership with Belmont Church), which employs formerly homeless or incarcerated workers in recycling mattresses, giving them an opportunity for new life while also disassembling old mattresses. Spring Back recently celebrated its one-year anniversary and continues to gain momentum and national media interest. To date 9,600 mattresses and 340,000 pounds of metal, foam and cotton have been recycled (enough to cover an NFL football field six times). In addition to receiving mattresses from individuals and a consortium of retailers covering five states, Spring Back is also currently in talks with the U.S. Navy to receive an additional 13,000 mattresses from two aircraft carriers to recycle this fall. Plans are also in the works for this sustainable business to be duplicated in markets in Colorado and Missouri.

• Provided business and financial plans to FashionABLE, which works with women from Ethiopia whose former source of income was to sell their bodies as prostitutes. With Nashville operations housed in SIFE space on Belmont’s campus, FashionABLE empowers these Ethiopians by allowing them to make and dye scarves that are sold across the United States. With Belmont SIFE’s assistance, FashionABLE doubled its annual revenue to $198,000 and increased its retail outlet presence from 70 to 193.

• Conceptualized by Belmont SIFE member Andrew Bishop, PhilanthroTeach provides job readiness training for Nashville’s unemployed and economically disadvantaged citizens by matching their needs with the skills of local academic and business professionals. Through SIFE, PhilanthroTeach developed an eight-week skills program, created a formal operating and marketing plan, recruited a board of directors and obtained 501(c)3 status. To date, more than 450 Nashville residents have been trained through PhilanthroTeach programs.

SIFE is an international non-profit active with more than 1,600 university teams in 39 countries. SIFE Teams create economic opportunities in their communities by organizing outreach projects that focus on market economics, entrepreneurship, personal and financial success skills, sustainability and business ethics.

About Enactus
Enactus is an international non-profit organization that brings together student, academic and business leaders who are committed to using the power of entrepreneurial action to improve the quality of life and standard of living for people in need. Guided by academic advisors and business experts, the 57,000 student leaders of Enactus create and implement 6,500 community empowerment projects in 39 countries each year. The experience not only transforms lives, it helps students develop the kind of talent and perspective that are essential to leadership in an ever-more complicated and challenging world. For more information, contact Enactus World Headquarters at 417-831-9505 or visit www.enactus.org.

About Always Sisters Forever Brothers

“Always Sisters Forever Brothers” goal is to educate, motivate and redirect the life choices or teens, young women and men. It is an annual National Conference under the umbrella of Sharing The Vision (a 501c3 organization founded by CeCe Winans) destined to empower youth and young adults with life changing and motivational teaching, heart-pounding worship, concerts and much more! Coming together for 2 1/2 power packed days, with attendance averaging 3000 +, “Always Sisters and Forever Brothers” address life issues affecting us all and consequently lives are changed forever.

They equip the next generation to be knowledgeable in the word of God, confident in their purpose and pressing forward into the destiny that God has ordained for them.

The conference consists of informative sessions, anointed praise and worship by some of our premier worship leaders, skits, a fashion show, a concert, comedy and power-packed messages from host, CeCe Winans, and other prominent speakers.

Both of CeCe’s children graduated from Belmont, and she is a former trustee at the school.

Winans has won eight Grammy Awards during a 25-year career.

Here is a brief preview of past conferences

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

To learn more about the Belmont Bruins Basketball Contest visit, http://belmont.prestosports.com/fancentral/m.o.b./index

To check out the 3 mastered songs, visit, http://www.reverbnation.com/ErikaRaen

For more information on Erika
Twitter: @Erika_Raen
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ErikaRaen1
Reverbnation: www.reverbnation.com/ErikaRaen

http://www.belmont.edu/business/organizations/sife.html

FashionABLE is not about creating dependance, but creating independence by giving jobs to Ethiopian women who make these beautiful scarves.

Founded by Barrett Ward, FashionABLE creates sustainable business for women in Africa. As a non-profit, all the profits go back to rehabilitate women.