Colby-Sawyer College Students Present Hope for Haiti Benefit Concert Featuring Orange Crush, With Silent Auction and Empty Bowls Project Fund-Raisers
NEW LONDON, N.H.- Student leaders from the Class of 2012 have joined other student clubs and organizations at Colby-Sawyer College to present a benefit concert, Silent Auction and the Empty Bowls Project on March 20 to raise funds for Haitian people in the aftermath of a catastrophic earthquake that struck their country on Jan. 12, 2010.
The Hope for Haiti Benefit Concert will feature Orange Crush, a popular '80s dance and party band, along with performances by the student-led gospel choir, theater group and dance club, and various open mic acts. Orange Crush began as an REM cover band and has evolved into an all-'80s cover band that performs at colleges and other venues across the country. The band was recently inducted into the Grand Band Slam Hall of Fame for Best Cover Band. The band's repertoire of music spans from U2, Billy Idol and the Ramones to Queen, Madonna and Michael Jackson.
The benefit concert will be held on Saturday, March 20, at 7 p.m. in Wheeler Hall at the Ware Campus Center, with student groups as the opening acts followed by Orange Crush at 9 p.m. Admission is free, but donations will be gratefully accepted. Event co-sponsors include the Class of 2012, Campus Activities Board (CAB), Colby-Sawyer Players, Cross Cultural Club, Commuter Club, Safe Zones and Word Order. The clubs will also sell refreshments, with all proceeds donated to the American Red Cross fund for Haiti.
Prior to the concert, the Cross Cultural Club and the Fine and Performing Arts Department's Ceramics Program will also host a Silent Auction and the Empty Bowls Project from 5 to 7 p.m. in Hicks Alumni Lounge at the Ware Campus Center. The Silent Auction will feature a variety of donated items and services, ranging from handmade jewelry, scarves and mittens to signed books by children's author David Elliott and ski and guitar lessons.
For the Empty Bowls Project, student artists have created a variety of colorful hand-thrown ceramic bowls, which will be sold with soup and bread donated by Sodexo Dining Services. The project, coordinated by Professor of Art Jon Keenan, is based on an international initiative begun by potter John Hartom, which has raised millions of dollars for hungry and impoverished people around the world. The project's proceeds will be donated to Doctors without Borders.
Class of 2012 President Kassandra Pike believes the efforts of her class and other students are a “great example that even on a somewhat small campus there are students with big hopes and dreams, and obviously, big hearts.” Her class wanted to help after the Haiti tragedy by doing something unique that would have a major impact. “I was given many lovely ideas by my classmates and other students alike and then finally our class officers and I came to the conclusion that a Hope for Haiti Benefit Concert would be the most challenging and biggest event we've ever put on,” she says. “It would also be the most beneficial for raising money for Haiti and well remembered because of the cause.”
To learn about other upcoming events at Colby-Sawyer College visit www.colby-sawyer.edu/events
-Aynsley Doyle '13
Aynsley Doyle is a student writer for College Communications at Colby-Sawyer College.
Colby-Sawyer, founded in 1837, is a comprehensive liberal arts and sciences college located in the scenic Lake Sunapee Region of central New Hampshire. Students learn in small classes through a select array of programs that integrate the liberal arts and sciences with professional experience.
Colby-Sawyer College, 541 Main Street, New London, N.H. 03257 (603) 526-3000
