|PIC1|Blood: Water Mission, a non-profit organisation founded by GRAMMY Award-winning Christian band Jars of Clay, recently received a donation of $10,000 from CMC Distribution, the largest Christian music distributor outside of the United States.

With the purpose to foster relief for the HIV/AIDS crisis raging in third world countries, Jars of Clay founded Blood: Water Mission to provide clean blood and water in Africa through the establishment of medical facilities and clean wells.

Tamara Schaaf, Label Manager of CMC Distribution says, "Getting behind a cause like the Blood: Water Mission gives validity to all we do. People are dying for less than the cost of our cup of coffee. That is a tragedy! It is not even an option—we must act!"

Last year Live 8 concerts took place across the world to urge world political leaders to tackle poverty on a huge scale, to ease the debt burdens of some of the world’s poorest countries and to alleviate poverty.

|AD|In Edinburgh, Scotland, the Live 8 concert included feature performances of artists such as Annie Lenox, James Brown, the Proclaimers, the Corrs, and Youssou N'Dour. Pop stars Ronan Keating, The Sugababes, The Corrs, Natasha Bedingfield and her brother Daniel and Texas joined to support the campaign.

African artists from pop star Peter Gabriel's Womad music festival performed as well.

Film stars, Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon joined Bob Geldof on his way to Edinburgh, to join an estimated 60,000 attendants at the event hosted by comedians Lenny Henry and Peter Kay.

CMC led various campaigns to gather funds for the Blood:Water Mission organisation, such as gathering US$1 per CD for the first 7,000 Jars of Clay Redemption Songs discs sold at retail stores in Canada, distributing “Blood:Water Mission” jars to collect donations, and auctioning off 10 original stained glass windows of Redemption Songs artwork.

For more information on Jars of Clay, please visit, JarsofClay.com or EssentialRecords.com. For more information on the Blood: Water Mission, please visit, BloodWaterMission.org.