How It All Started…

It started in 1997 with the selfless act of helping a friend in need.  Confronted with her friend’s dire prognosis, a terminal disease treated by a then experimental bone marrow transplant, Carol Brush sought the help of lifelong friend Abigail Higgins, who in turn asked their mutual friend, singer James Taylor, for help. James was pleased to lend a hand. Rehearsing up-island with his band in advance of his summer road tour, James opened the tour to his home town crowd of Islanders in a June concert at the new MV Regional High School auditorium. Volunteers from the community flocked to help, several being professional stage mangers leading others in the production of a seamless show. To a packed house, $100.00 tickets sold out, the money was raised, the cure administered, and the patient, wife, mother and friend of many lives on. 

About YGAF

In 1998, George Brush established You’ve Got a Friend, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation which distributes aid to Island families and individuals who are undergoing catastrophic events such as sudden illness, death of a bread winner, accident or natural disaster. The organization receives private donations and ensures that all gifts go directly to those in need. Since 2017, You’ve Got a Friend has helped 61 Island beneficiaries by distributing over $1.85 million dollars toward their health, support, and well-being.

What’s unique about You’ve Got a Friend - and it’s by design - is there are no administrative costs involved. The directors contribute their services and the law office administers the nonprofit at no cost to the organization and provides pro bono legal counsel. As a result, 100 percent of the donations are distributed directly to the beneficiaries.