The Sword & The Spirit
is a labour of Love for its Members Tony DeLorenzo, Eric Lea and Richard Ferreira.
Tony, Eric and Richard - lifelong friends - started the band as a way to reach out to children in the foster care system.
These are often the forgotten children in society. Some have been abused, neglected and/or abandoned by their biological families; and desperately need a safe, loving and perminent home.
Others just need a place to call home until their situation is safe enough for them to return home.
However, many of these children enter a system that makes them strangers in the places where they live, moving multiple times in short periods, never being able to create a permanent connection with their caregivers. Eventually they are "aged out" or emancipated from "the system"; destined to repeat the cycle over again.
The Sword & Spirit's music relates to the children's pain and sense of abandonment; it gives air to their feelings. The band's goal is to be a voice for these children and to encourage society not to forget them. No child is a mistake - They are all gifts from God!
In April of 2001 they were invited to attend the Vermont Foster and Adoptive Families Association’s annual convention, which was held at the Killington Grand Resort Hotel in Vermont.
The band performed in front of approximately 450 Vermont foster parents, state social workers, foster children and the Governor of the State of Vermont. At the conference they gave away over 300 copies of their first CD to foster parents, state agencies and others.
The Sword & Spirit returned to perform at 3 VT State Foster & Adoptive annual conferences.
And in 2003 they began hosting their own benefits to raise awareness to the needs of foster & adoptive children and families.
The band typically performs 3 to 6 benefits annually for children and families with special needs traveling between VT, NH, NJ, RI, NY and CT.
The scope of their message has now expanded across the border into Canada to include children with Autism and Special Olympics.
Last fall members of the Sword & Spirit were invited to perform at a benefit for children with Autism in Toronto, Canada helping to raise nearly $20,000 for this cause.
Recently, the Canadian Special Olympic Committee enlisted the Sword & Spirit to kick-off their Fall 2006 fundraising campaign with a concert at Toronto’s 6 Degree’s Club. Their show was held on Friday 11/3/06 and hosted by Jessi Cruickshank of MTV Live.
Roger Waters of Pink Floyd autographed a guitar that the band auctioned off for $2,500.00. It was a great evening and they raised several thousand dollars for Special Olympics!
The Sword & Spirit completed their 3rd CD, ‘Eye of The Dreamer’ in December of 2006 and they are currently in the process of distributing free copies to every foster and adoptive family in the State of Vermont!
The band just returned from a special acoustic performance for CAFAP (Connecticut Association of Foster & Adoptive Parents) on 5/11/07 and are now working on yet another CD.
The Sword & Spirit's mission is two fold…
One: Create a heightened sense of awareness within our communities to the needs of these children and the adults that care for them.
Two: Develop and promote projects through music and the arts that reach out and effect positive change in the lives of these children and their families
If you would like to contribute to our cause, please email Tony, for more information: tony@swordspirit.net