The benefit concert will raise money for clean water in Kenya and medical supplies in Honduras.
Ten student and faculty bands—playing everything from alternative and hip-hop to piano and folk—are collaborating in a benefit concert for an orphanage in Kenya and a medical center in Honduras. The music of Total Depravity, Count the Leaves, Be Lyrebirds, and many more will emanate from the chapel this Friday and Saturday night from 6:30 to 9 p.m. A three-dollar donation is encouraged at the door, and all proceeds from the event will be split between the two causes.
Becky Kim, a sophomore student senate representative, was inspired to organize the concert after going on Calvin’s interim trip, “Kenya, Leadership in Africa.” During the trip, they visited the House of Hope orphanage which is run by a Grand Rapids missionary couple. “When we stayed at their house for a couple nights, I was moved by their ministry” Kim said. She learned about the lack of clean water in the area and about how the couple was raising money to replace a broken water pump. The money from the benefit will help the orphanage to buy the replacement pump, which will supply clean water for the organization.
The concert will also help a medical center in the rural city of Cusuna, Honduras to buy medical supplies. This medical need was suggested by junior Steve Griffith, who is playing bass guitar for Total Depravity in the concert. Last summer, Griffith volunteered at the Honduran medical center after being referred there by one of his professors. Due to a corrupt universal health care system, the medical center doesn’t get enough supplies from the government to treat even the simplest problems. “The vitamins that I brought were all gone in a week” Griffith said. “It was all things that were super-preventable.”
While the concert will be the main event, the student senate planning team—Kim, freshman Kyle Rodriguez, sophomore Josiah Sinclair, and senior Ben Faulkner— is also organizing a silent auction, which will take place in the undercroft throughout the concert. The auction will include photography, paintings, purses, duffel bags and other items, made by students or alumni and donated to benefit the same causes as the concert. The team is still looking for more art donations. For more information, e-mail them at 2011benefit@gmail.com.
