SIMS Foundation Announces Funding from Armadillo World Headquarters and C3 Presents to Support Mental Health Programs During Service Transition

Funding brings SIMS to 30% of “Restore the Rhythm” campaign goal; SIMS is now calling on local community to donate and help them continue to provide services to Austin’s music community

Today, The SIMS Foundation has announced that, due to recent funding from Armadillo World Headquarters (AWHQ) and C3 Presents, SIMS will be able to connect the most vulnerable clients to care during its current service transition period. This support comes at a pivotal moment for SIMS, which had recently announced a temporary 90-day pause in services to focus on restructuring and fundraising.

“We are incredibly grateful to Armadillo World Headquarters and C3 Presents for stepping up to protect these vital services for our local music community,” said Derrick Lesnau, CEO of the SIMS Foundation. “Their commitment ensures that we can continue supporting our clients, providing life-saving care at a time when mental health and addiction recovery services are more critical than ever. While this support allows us to continue select services, we are still very much in need of continued fundraising in order to implement our new service model that will allow us to serve our community for decades to come. We greatly appreciate this support from our AWHQ & C3 Presents community partners and are hopeful others in our community will also help us meet this challenge.”

In tandem with the temporary pause announcement, SIMS Foundation launched their Restore the Rhythm campaign to support the mission, programmatic initiatives, and strategic restructuring of the organization and with the generous support from AWHQ and C3 Presents, 30% of the campaign goal has been achieved. SIMS is now calling on the local community and businesses to donate. You can find more information here: Restore the Rhythm Campaign Page.

Since 1995, SIMS has been a vital resource for Austin’s creative community, offering a continuum of care to Austin musicians, music industry professionals, and their dependent families that promotes emotional well-being, stability, and recovery during times of personal and financial hardship. SIMS Foundation is actively working with current clients and their providers on care plans to ensure clients are receiving support as they adapt their service model.

“When we brought Armadillo World Headquarters back as a purpose-driven brand, it was to support initiatives exactly like this,” said Nick Shuley, spokesperson for AWHQ. “Helping SIMS Foundation to continue to be able to serve our community was a no-brainer. Helping Austin’s creative community is central to our mission. We deeply value the role SIMS plays in sustaining the health and vibrancy of our city’s musicians and artists, and we hope other organizations are inspired to do the same.”

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), one in five Americans experiences a mental health condition each year. The SIMS Foundation is committed to ensuring that members of the music community have access to a full range of mental health and substance use recovery treatments, delivered without barriers and at little or no cost.

“As we approach the holiday season, the team at C3 wanted to do our part to help Austin’s musicians maintain access to critical therapy,” said Emmett Beliveau, Chief Operating Officer, C3 Presents. “We applaud SIMS for exploring new service models in the months ahead to continue its incredible legacy of service to the Austin music community.”

For more information on SIMS and ways to contribute, please visit simsfoundation.org.

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About SIMS Foundation

The SIMS Foundation provides mental health and substance use recovery services and support for musicians, music industry professionals, and their dependent family members. Through education, community partnerships, and accessible managed care, SIMS seeks to destigmatize and reduce mental health and substance use issues, while supporting and enhancing the well-being of the music community at large. For 29 years, SIMS has been at the forefront of making emotional well-being a priority for our community, working to educate the public and to arm the music community with the resources needed to look out for themselves, and each other. You can find more information at https://simsfoundation.org/.

About Armadillo World Headquarters
Armadillo World Headquarters was a legendary Austin music venue of the 1970s, instrumental in shaping the city’s identity as the Live Music Capital of the World. Relaunched as a purpose-driven brand, Armadillo World Headquarters continues its legacy by celebrating and supporting the music, culture, and values it championed. The brand comes to life through a range of multimedia platforms, including never-before-seen original recordings, a documentary film, exclusive merchandise, music releases, and live events. Learn more at armadilloworld.com.

About C3 Presents

Based in Austin, C3 Presents creates live experiences for millions of fans across the globe, setting the new standard each year for events that are as memorable as they are spectacular. One of the world’s largest music festival producers, C3 is the force behind the iconic Austin City Limits Music Festival, as well as Two Step Inn and Besame Mucho Austin, in addition to booking concerts at famed Austin venues including Moody Center, Moody Amphitheater, Stubb’s, Emo’s and Scoot Inn. For more information, visit www.c3presents.com.