What do you do to keep your heart from breaking into a million pieces when you hear that a young person you care about is battling for his life? You help him achieve a dream of helping others facing similar pain, isolation and fear. This is the essence of how Heart of Gold Entertainment teamed up with Brent Albert to start The Soul Shine Project.

The Soul Shine Project gets its name from a song written by Warren Haynes called, "Soulshine." Brent was looking for a name for his fledgling project to help kids with cancer and other life altering diseases when his dad shared a YouTube video of Warren Haynes playing "Soulshine" with Derek Trucks and the legendary Gregg Allman. The words and emotion of the song resonated with Brent.

Here are the lyrics:

When you cant find the light
That guides you through a cloudy day
When the stars aint shinin' bright
And you feel like you've lost your way
When the candle lights of home
Burn so very far away
Well you got to let your soul shine
Just like my daddy used to say
He used to say soul shine
Its better than sunshine
Its better than moonshine
Damn sure better than rain
Hey now people don't mind
We all get this way sometimes
Got to let your soul shine
Shine till the break of day

I grew up thinkin' that I had it made
Gonna make it on my own
But life can take the strongest man
And make him feel so alone
Now and then I feel a cold wind
Blowin' through my aching bones
I think back to what my daddy said
He said Boy, it 's the darkness before the dawn
Let your soul shine
Its better than sunshine
Its better than moonshne
Damn sure better than rain
Yeah now people don't mind
We all get this way sometimes
Got to let your soul shine
Shine till the break of day

Sometimes a man can feel this emptiness
Like a woman has robbed him of his very soul
A woman too, God knows, she can feel like this
And when your world seems cold
You got to let your spirit take control
Let your soul shine
Its better than sunshine
Its better than moonshne
Damn sure better than rain
Lord now people dont mind
We all get this way sometimes
Got to let your soul shine
Shine till the break of day
Oh, its better than sunshine
Its better than moonshne
Damn sure better than rain
Yeah now people dont mind
We all get this way sometimes
Got to let your soul shine
Shine till the break of day

We talked a bit and agreed that The Soul Shine Project fits like a favorite pair of jeans. The vision and mission of the project is simple yet profound: to empower, rejuvenate and provide supportive comfort for children and teens with cancer and other life altering conditions through the healing and transforming power of music. This music will largely come from gifted young artists who desire to share their talent and have their lives forever changed by seeing their music change the lives of others. To kick off The Soul Shine Project, we are in the process of compiling a CD that features some of the most significant young artists we know across many genres of music. We are also very close to entering into a partnership with an existing well established nonprofit agency that shares our vision and is willing to provide the administrative support and fiscal agency for The Soul Shine Project to move directly into service delivery and tailoring its operations to meet the needs of young patients who will give us direct feedback on our efforts. A website and MySpace will soon be available.

I want to give special mention to Picture Me Broken (formerly Lane Four) whose members have formed a special bond with Brent and The Soul Shine Project. Nick, Layla, Eric and Austin as well as their parents have worked hard to bring this project to where it is today, including securing a major source of start up funding for the CD and initial start up costs. It is our hope that The Soul Shine Project will enjoy a long and successful life and secure a legacy.

As our tasks and partnerships take shape, I will give updates on The Soul Shine Project. Thanks for taking the time to read this first installment.