Rockin’ for charity
Devoted fans stood shoulder to shoulder chanting the names of their favorite local bands at the Factory Pizzeria Tuesday to support their fellow students and to help children with facial deformities.
A group of public relations students in a JCOM 2300 class put together a benefit concert to raise money for the international foundation Operation Smile for their final group project. While other groups in the class organized events for local businesses and organizations, this group decided to organize an event for charity.
“We just thought that with everything going on in the world, it would be cool to do something to help out,” said Molly Hilliard, a junior majoring in public relations and an organizer of the event. “It only takes $240 to change a little kid’s life, so we thought that it would be a good cause to donate to.”
Operation Smile is a foundation with many “global resource” chapters that raise funds to perform surgeries to restore the smiles of children that suffer with correctable facial deformities. Because of generous contributions from many supporting corporations, the foundation is able to leverage every $1 the students donated at the benefit concert into $6 for the program.
According to the foundation, last year medical volunteers for Operation Smile were able to provide free surgeries for more than 5,600 children through the efforts international volunteers as well as local physicians within each country.
Members of the Operation Smile Service Club at USU were at the event to give a short speech and to hand out pamphlets to give more information about the foundation. Their goal was to promote awareness and support in its programs.
“It’s cool to see that the bands are giving the money to somebody else as opposed to keeping it for themselves,” said Chris Kiahtipes, a senior in anthropology, who was one of the many students who packed into the Factory Pizzeria.
The event organizers did not expect to have such a good turn out.
“We were able to raise $500 for the cause,” said event organizer Ryan Johns, a senior in public relations, “We did better than expected.”
The bands that played at the benefit concert included: Bang Bang You’re Dead, Swill, Hasenpfeffer and the Bombdiggities, and Ben Nelson. They didn’t seem to mind playing the show for free.
“We always like playing for a good cause,” said sophomore Jared Shores, a political science major and the lead singer of Bang Bang You’re Dead.
Nicole Sevy, a senior majoring in family and human development, had never seen the local bands perform before. She said she was impressed by the talent of her peers.
“The music was really cool,” Sevy said. “It was fun to hear all of the bands play and see all of the interesting people.”
“Bombdiggities are the shiznit,” said Porter Foulger, a sophomore majoring in business and a friend of Hasenpfeffer and the Bombdiggity. “It’s been awesome to have all of these cool bands playing in the same place.”
The benefit concert’s organizers included: Trisha Taggart, Chris Norris, Ryan Johns, Molly Hilliard, Matt Lenio and Marty Archibald.
-mackhud@cc.usu.edu
(Photo by Jamie Crane)