What Is Rhino's Mission?

At Rhino our mission is to put out great stuff, have some fun, make some money, learn from each other, and make a difference wherever we can.

What Is Rhino's Social Mission?

"...And make a difference wherever we can..." is a statement which carries a healthy chunk of Rhino's soul in it.

As a company, Rhino Entertainment is a leading member of the Social Venture Network (www.svn.org) and Businesses for Social Responsibility (www.bsr.org). These organizations are made up of successful, socially minded business leaders who strive for change though ethical business practices that enrich the lives of individuals within the companies as well as the communities to which they belong.

Rhino has maintained a reputation as a strong supporter of social change efforts throughout Los Angeles and beyond. The uniqueness of our social mission is not so much that the company gives to the sexiest, most hip causes of the day, but how Rhino employees and even customers are encouraged to get involved in the interchange between Rhino and the community. Members of Rhino's Social and Environmental Responsibility Team (SERT) assist their fellow employees in becoming agents of social change, as the team's mission statement proclaims: Our Mission Is To Raise Awareness, Ignite Activism, Encourage Responsible Volunteerism, And Support Environmental, Economic, And Social Justice To Campaign for Radical Change In Our Communities.

With the support of company management, employees rally around this mission and challenge each other to make a difference wherever they can. The SERT team hosts speaker lunches featuring guests who inspire employees to work for change in all manner of contexts.

Employees can donate clothes, food, and toys year-round at Rhino's donations bin and contribute a portion of their paycheck to local organizations that address homelessness and hunger in the "Bucks-a-Week" program.

''We believe in the Liberty Hill Foundation (http://www.libertyhill.org) credo 'Change, Not Charity','' says Gary Stewart, Rhino Senior VP of A&R, and the founder of SERT, referring to the organization that advises Rhino on its charitable giving. ''It just makes more sense to invest in programs that empower people to excel in the world, not just survive in it. Toward that end, Rhino has donated money to programs that help alleviate homelessness, hunger, and disease, as well as campaigns for livable wages, affordable housing, transportation for the poor, and workers' and immigrants' rights.''

The Team regularly organizes events where Rhino employees can put the muscle where our mission is, collaborating with local organizations that serve vulnerable populations and lay the groundwork for a strong and healthy future. Rhinos have grown accustomed to spending Saturdays with the kids from The Al Wooten Jr. Heritage Center, holidays with the Mid-Valley Youth Center kids, as well as lunch-time holiday visits with the folks at the Culver West Convalescent Center.

Each of Rhino's employees is encouraged to donate a minimum of 16 hours of community service work per year. For this, they receive paid time off between the Christmas and New Year holidays. After a Rhino has completed the first 16 hours, s/he can earn an hour off for every hour volunteered, up to a maximum of 48 hours, now that's time off for good behavior!. In 2001, Rhino employees volunteered just under 3,000 hours!

Since 1992, Rhino has become particularly passionate about the Al Wooten Center, an education/recreation facility in South Central Los Angeles founded by the mother of a young security guard who was killed by gang crossfire (http://www.wootencenter.org). The Wooten Center is an after-school refuge for neighborhood youth and has contributed to the healthy development of dozens of bright young Angelenos. Between 15-25 Rhino employees volunteer on a regular basis, organizing field trips and assisting in programs which nurture creativity, adventure, and the spirit of community service.

Rhino's Social Mission is extended to the company's customer, via public service announcements printed on booklets accompanying our CDs, cassettes, and box sets. By printing info about organizations that are working towards social, environmental or economic justice, Rhino is challenging the community to act according to their own conscience and to make a difference wherever they can.

Rhino also releases specific album and video projects whereby a portion of the proceeds are donated to organizations addressing community needs. Rhino's audio and video Comic Relief series has raised nearly $400,000 for Health Care For The Homeless, in Los Angeles. A portion of the proceeds from each volume (18 to date) of Rhino's popular Blues Masters: The Essential Blues Collection series and the Doc Pomus tribute album, Till The Night Is Gone, (totaling close to $195,000) have been donated to the Rhythm & Blues Foundation. For Our Children, Too, an album released on Kid Rhino, has generated more than $1 million for the Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Proceeds from 2000's For Our Children: 10th Anniversary Commemorative Edition will benefit the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Thanks to The Best of Broadway, the TJ Martell Foundation/Neil Bogart Memorial Fund has received over $80,000 with Rhino's help.

Most recently, announced that all of its proceeds from its boxed set Voices Of the Shoah: Remembrances of The Holocaust would be donated to support the mission of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles.