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Meet the family on wheels who are changing kids’ lives

For Shane and Emily Anderson, home is a school bus, life is an adventure and children are everything. Read how these sponsors and ChildFund LIVE! partnered artists are making a difference for kids.

Posted On 06/24/2021 | 4 min read

A man, woman and small child stand in front of a blue school bus that reads 'Arbour Season'
From right to left: Shane, Emily, their daughter Juneau (in utero) and their son Sawyer pause for a photo in front of the converted school bus where they live and travel full-time. Shane and Emily's band, Arbour Season, partners with ChildFund to recruit sponsors for children at their live concerts.

 

What do a bouncing baby, a wild toddler, a pair of acoustic guitars and one renovated old school bus have in common?

They all make up the scenery of daily life for Shane and Emily Anderson, the husband-wife duo behind the indie folk band Arbour Season. For them, home is a school bus, life is an adventure, faith is paramount and children are everything.

“Childhood is important because it’s during these years that people become who they will be for the rest of their lives,” Emily says. That’s why these “skoolies” care about making a difference for kids – and why they are using their musical gifts to help ChildFund find sponsors for children around the world.

 

An unconventional love story

 
Shane and Emily didn’t always live and travel full-time on a school bus. It feels like only a short time ago when they first met at an open mic night in Florida and began playing together at Disney World twice a week. As their connection deepened, so did their shared passion for music, and Arbour Season was born. Today, one wedding and two kids later – Sawyer, 2, and Juneau, 3 months – Shane and Emily now play at coffee shops, house shows, theme parks, colleges and other venues all across North America. 
 
It was while on tour that they were first approached by a representative from ChildFund’s LIVE! Artist program.
 
“He met with us over breakfast while we were in Nashville, told us everything about ChildFund, and we were hooked!” Emily says. They were especially motivated by the way ChildFund works hand-in-hand with families and communities to help them support their children.
 
“Our family is the most important thing to us,” Shane says. “I can’t help but see my son in others who are hurting. I think to myself, ‘This could be Sawyer.’”
 
Shane and Emily signed on as LIVE! Artists that day. They also decided to sponsor a child of their own, 6-year-old Silas in Kenya.
 

Making an impact

 
Since partnering with ChildFund, Arbour Season’s concerts look a little bit different. They’re more than just an opportunity for fans to get together, celebrate music and have fun. They’ve become a call to action. At every show, the band sets up a table with information about children who are waiting for sponsors. Then, during the concert, Shane and Emily encourage members of the audience to sponsor a child.
 
Having a front-row seat to the magic of sponsorship has led to some pretty memorable experiences so far. Once, Arbour Season played a house show in New Jersey, and someone at the show decided to sponsor a child. A year later, when Shane and Emily went back to do another show at the house, the sponsor was overjoyed to show off all the letters and photos they had exchanged with their sponsored child over the course of the year.
 
“There was so much pride and love in that relationship,” Shane says. “It’s not every day you get to see the fruits of your labor, so that was a really cool moment.”
 
“It’s not only something that happens within a child’s heart and future, but there is something that happens in you when you sponsor a child,” Emily adds. “You make a difference in someone’s life. You start to want to give more.”
 
As they tour the country, inspiring others to help children, the couple hopes to pass the spirit of giving on to their own kids.
 
Right now, Shane says, they’re busy just being kids – playing with trains, jumping on trampolines. But in time, “we definitely look forward to teaching them what it means to support others,” he says. “We want to show them that the part you play in this world always leaves an impact.”