The Healing Force, a popular Christian family act represented by Indie
Extreme, has been awarded the Bunche Medal for "bridging and
celebrating African-American and African culture with spirit-affirming
universal values, sparkling creativity, and stunning music, dance and
traditional story-telling."

The international Bunche Medal was crafted in 2003 to honor the 100th
anniversary of the birth of Dr. Ralph J. Bunche, the first U.S.
citizen and the first person of color in the world to receive the
Nobel Peace Prize. The medal has been given since 2003 to individuals
who have dedicated their lives to the pursuit of finding peaceful
solutions to social problems through cultural education and enlightenment.

Founded in 1975, The Healing force features Joseph and Gail Anderson,
their daughter Sonji Gardner, and their son Karim. The performing
family uses traditional African music, drumming, dancing and
storytelling to encourage positive behavior, provide creative
opportunities, and enrich school curriculums. They have traveled the
country, appearing at schools, colleges, churches, museums, festivals,
family reunions and community events. The group turns every
performance into a celebration of African culture and spirit, where
audience participation is encouraged.

The North Carolina performers also are the first laureates to be named
"Goodwill Ambassadors of the Arts". Part of their new duties, in
addition to continuing to educate and enlighten audiences around the
world with African-based music, dancing and stories, will be to
oversee the creation of "jeli" gardens -- vegetable gardens grown by
children to help feed the community.

"We are flabbergasted and delighted beyond words to receive this
recognition," said Gail Anderson, who received the medal with other
members of the family quartet at The Blessings Project in
Winston-Salem, N.C. "We are deeply committed to helping children.
We've been raising funds to help the citizens of Zambougou, Mali,
build a new school and vegetable gardens. We've received letters of
appreciation from the governor and the mayor, and the city council has
issued a special proclamation to honor our efforts."

The Bunche Medal was designed by Alex Shagin, an acclaimed artist who
designed medals for the Olympics in Moscow and has exhibited works at
noted museums, galleries and private collections around the world.
Other recipients of the medal include Nelson Mandela, a former
president of South Africa, and Paul Rusesabagina, a courageous hotel
manager who helped save more than 1,000 lives during the genocide in
Rwanda.

For more information about the Bunche Medal, The Healing Force, or the
group's fundraising efforts, call (336) 767-2724, send an e-mail to
thehealingforce@..., or visit http://www.thehealingforceonline.com.

“We are very excited to hear that The Healing Force has received the
Bunche Medal,” said Kathy Douglas, CEO for Indie Extreme. “Joseph,
Gail, Sonji Gardner and Karim are doing incredible things to help
others. We are honored to represent them.”

Indie Extreme, which is based in Brentwood, Tenn., represents musical
acts ranging from folk legend Judy Collins to hit CCM artist Matt
Brouwer. The firm provides administrative and managerial services such
as correspondence, bookkeeping, CD/merchandise fulfillment, marketing,
publicity, database development, web site development,
management/maintenance, e-commerce management, and the coordination of
vendor services.
http://www.indieextreme.com