At the band's 1st Annual “Hootie & The Blowfish Homegrown Concert" in Charleston, SC, fans were asked to bring school supplies for the Charleston County School District. From rulers, pencils, notebooks to book-bags, the donations were so generous that they filled a 55-passenger school bus.

The Hootie and the Blowfish Foundation, established in 2000, is a private non-profit organization that was created in conjunction with the Hootie and the Blowfish Monday After the Masters Golf Tournament and benefits children of South Carolina through education and supporting school music programs nationwide.

Throughout their career, Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, Darius Rucker, and Jim Sonefeld have stayed true to their roots and worked hard to give something back to the community that has always supported them. By establishing a fund with the Central Carolina Community Foundation, Hootie and the Blowfish is creating an opportunity for grants to benefit the education of South Carolina’s children of today, and well into the future.

“The Foundation enables us to be proactive for the charities we are passionate about. The foundation becomes a viable resource that enables us to help people at anytime,” says Mark Bryan, guitarist for Hootie and the Blowfish.

At the 2002 Monday After the Masters golf tournament the band presented VH1's Save the Music with a check for $20,000. This money was used to restore music programs at five South Carolina public schools. They included: Columbia schools Edward Taylor and Hopkins Elementary, and Greenville schools Tigerville Elementary,East North Street Elementary and Ellen Woodside Elementary.

The band grew up in an environment that supported them both at home and in their schools. Music and a strong education were central parts in all their lives. Knowing how fortunate they were, they have a strong desire to improve education in their home state. Throughout school districts in South Carolina, and across the nation, music programs are diminished or abandoned completely due to budget restrictions.

Since the establishment of the Hootie and the Blowfish Foundation, the members of the band have been able to invest proceeds from their annual Monday After the Masters Celebrity Pro-Am golf tournament, as well as any other fundraisers in which they participate, to such causes as “VH-1’s Save the Music,” where five South Carolina public schools’ music programs were restored. They’ve also helped fund local educational projects like the Family Learning Centers in Timmonsville, and Charleston, SC, creating an outlet for parents to learn computer skills, while their children learn reading skills and have supervised homework.

In 2002 the Hootie Foundation donated $30,000 to Johnson Middle School in Timmonsville, SC so the school could buy music instruments and develop a band program. Since the establishment of the middle school marching band, their program has gone on to perform in parades and compete in competitions across the state.

From helping children of our state receive proper educational materials in the classroom, to providing a middle school band with instruments (Johnson Middle School), Hootie and the Blowfish recognize the need to help South Carolina children.

“The children in our state are our best resource and our most hopeful investment. With proper funding, our children can receive a well-rounded and meaningful education based in practical studies and the arts,” says lead singer, Darius Rucker. ``If you care about the future of the nation, the best way you can start is by creating well-rounded people coming up behind us,'' said Bryan

Educational projects the
Hootie Foundation supports:

Alice Burney Elementary Family Learning Center

Angel Oak Elementary Family Learning Center

Blue Print Leadership Academy

Carolina Studios

Camp Good Times

Cool Books Reading Program- Florence District 4

Dunston Elementary Family Learning Center

East Clarendon High School Marching Band

Florence School District 4 Family Learning Center

Junior Achievement of
Horry County

The Memminger Project

Save the Music

South Carolina Council on Economic Education
Hootie Takes Stock in South Carolina

TC Drayton Family
Learning Center

The Friendship House Pre-school