I feel like a kid at a fair being told I am an inch too short to ride on all the roller coasters. I was excited at first to hear that “Noise For the Needy” (which started on Wednesday and runs through Sunday) would be held at multiple, often all-ages, venues. This meant that I could see Crystal Antlers at Neumos, Grant Olsen at Chop Suey and the Red Sea Sharks at Neumos and give to charity in the process. However, a visit to the NFTN website quickly popped my bubble. I was upset to see that there would be only one all-ages event at this year’s “Noise For the Needy.” Unfortunately, the big 2-1 birthday looms a few months in the distance so I still roll with the all-ages crowd. Thus, I’ve been confined to two artists and only one chance to give charitably.Seattle has a surprisingly large youth population and with that comes a large youth music scene. How can NFTN boast to be “Seattle’s premier benefit music festival” if they are only providing one all-ages event out of the 16 that they are hosting? We should be advocating our youth to donate as well.I understand there are strict liquor laws and venues still want to make a buck in hard times. But that just sounds like a bunch of lame excuses to me. Social responsibility and compassion should be encouraged among all ages. If this is truly supposed to be a philanthropic event, coordinators should want to widen the demographic of people able to attend the events. Making the majority of the venues 21 and over questions the level of charitably this event is supporting.Clearly, there are two solutions. Create more all-ages events at next year’s “Noise For the Needy.” Or lower the drinking age.