Rising senior Justin Blau is on a mission.
Blau, a finance major at Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis, is more widely known by his stage name, 3LAU. He plans to use his status as a rising star in the electronic music world to raise money for schools for underprivileged children in developing nations.
Blau, who was recently named resident DJ at Hard Rock Café Las Vegas and ranks No. 3 on BeatPort’s Top 10 music chart, hopes to take electronic dance music to another level by teaming with his fans to support Pencils of Promise.
The nonprofit organization builds schools for underprivileged children in developing nations like Guatemala, Laos and Nicaragua.
“Every dollar that I make by selling my ‘Back to New’ remix on BeatPort.com will be donated to Pencils of Promise,” Blau says. “My goal is $25,000, and I will personally match all money donated via BeatPort.com sales until we reach that goal.
“I want to harness the power of the dance music movement to give something real, to give back.”
Blau is an accomplished performer, with 45 nationwide shows under his belt in this year alone. When he’s not behind the turntables or studying for exams, Blau says he is adamant about giving back by working with the community that has catapulted his career.
“I have more than 40,000 fans on Facebook,” he says. “If each of them donates just 50 cents, we can raise enough money to build another school and bring awareness to global education.
“Education is a right that all human beings should have,” he says, “yet there are 75 million children just like us without access to it. I’m ready to help that change.”
“Justin is a top-notch student, a talented and original musician, and a terrifically nice guy who makes everyone near him better,” says Glenn MacDonald, PhD, the John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics and Strategy and professor of the popular “Economics of Entertainment” class at Olin.
“It is such a great thing for our community to enjoy his music and his success story up close. Download ‘Back to New’!”
To learn more about Pencils of Promise and to donate, visit 3lau.com.