Social Impact Social Media

The Baltimore Rock Opera Society (or BROS) has been all about fun since it was started in 2007 by Aran Keating, Dylan Koehler, John DeCampos,  Jared Margulies and Eli Breitburg-Smith. According to BROS their sole mission is to produce original live rock opera in Baltimore. In doing so they are making musical performance and appreciation accessible to a  broad spectrum of the Baltimore community reaching youth and many that wouldn’t consider traditional musical theater. baltimorerockopera.org The motto of the Baltimore Rock Opera Society is In Panton Redundo—Latin for “in every­thing, excess.” For BROS that means rock driven stage shows in fun excess!  There are a lot of Do-It-Yourself, DIY, performance venues around the country but I daresay  the BROS formula of  plays interspersed with high energy rock song performances and over the top DIY costumes and sets is a winning combination. They are masterful at getting the most out of a shoestring budget  of only $40,000 a year

itgetsbetter.org In September 2010 after a number of gay, lesbian and transgender youth taking their own lives as a result of bullying Dan Savage and his partner Terry Miller made a YouTube video to create a personal way for supporters around the world to spread the word and outreach to LGBT youth letting them know that it does get better. The It Gets Better Project is now a worldwide movement with more than 60,000 personally created videos  and shared stories that have been viewed over 50 million times. The project has received celebrity submissions including President Obama, Hilary Clinton, Ann Hathaway, Colin Farrell, Adam Lambert, Sarah Silverman, Ellen DeGeneres and many others. In March 2011 the It Gets Better Project book was released. The book, It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living is on-sale wherever books are sold.   It includes essays and new material from more than 100 contributors, including celebrities, rel