text: Laneway Festival is proud to partner with Plus 1 in 2019 for the fourth year running. Plus 1 is a socially-focused organisation that connects artists, causes and music fans. Plus 1 partners with bands and events who make a $1 donation for every concert ticket sold, with 100% going to charity organisations making the most significant impact in the world. Through this initiative, upwards of $7 million has been raised for leading social justice organisations tackling issues from poverty and injustice to the environment by artists including Arcade Fire, The National, St. Vincent, CHVRCHES, Vampire Weekend, Flume and many more. Laneway Festival’s chosen worthy causes for 2019 are Yiriman and Buy a Bale. Marika Anthony-Shaw, co-founder and CEO of Plus 1, says:
  "It's incredibly inspiring, now looking at our fourth year of partnership with Laneway and knowing that through the simple act of music lovers gathering, over $250,000 will have been donated to creating transformative change through Yiriman Foundation, Oxfam, FightMND and now Buy a Bale. It's really powerful."
  Laneway Festival is proud to celebrate one of our local music heroes, Dean Turner, and honoured to be supporting the Yiriman Project in his name.
  In June 2013 after reading the plight of Queensland farmers who were destroying their cattle and some being forced off their land, Charles Alder found he needed to do something about this problem. Coming from a family committed to helping others Charles and wife Tracy decided they needed to find out how best they could help those in this terrible situation.
  After making calls to agriculture industry groups and speaking to others, and with a lifetime of experience in marketing, it was decided to create a fundraising program that explained exactly what Australians could do to help.
  Through a number of business contacts, thank you Bartercard, an approach was made to Sunrise the Channel 7 morning program to participate in a hay drive. Since this hay drive in September 2013, the program has delivered over 160,000 bales of hay across 4 states. But the Buy a Bale program has become more than fodder.
  Today the Buy a Bale campaign is part of the charity Rural Aid, formed by Charles and Tracy to expand services and support to rural communities not only suffering through natural disasters but communities that need help remaining in existence, our rural communities are disappearing and need help.
  In one of the driest countries on the planet, there will always be farmers who need assistance feeding their animals. The Buy a Bale program will be here to provide that assistance. Thank you Australia for helping us make our vision happen.