April 10, 2012
Benefit concert will support RSO’s outreach work
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- A fundraising event this week will help students from Southern Illinois University Carbondale help people in Africa.
“Taking (Giant) Action with Africa” is set Thursday, April 12, at the Copper Dragon featuring live performances by four bands. The quad-playbill gives you a chance to hear Mary and the Giant, Belligerent, The Beattie Rhodes Band and Kid Tiger all play for one price. Tickets are $10 and available at the door. Doors open at 9 p.m.
Members of the campus chapter of Childreach International travelled to Peru during the break between the fall and spring semesters to help local community members plant hundreds of fruit trees that will provide villagers with income for many years to come. Now, plans are in the works for a service trip to Africa this summer. The benefit concert will help raise money to enable SIU Carbondale students to travel to the Moshi, Tanzania, area this summer. There, they will assist members of the local community with sustainable development projects including rebuilding school classrooms.
According to Kelsey Fuller, coordinator of the SIU Carbondale chapter of Childreach International, the group hopes to raise $5,000 through the concert. The students also fund their efforts through corporate sponsorships, pledges and so forth. The students not only cover their own travel and living expenses for the trip but they also raise money for the materials they use in their service projects. Fuller said five SIU Carbondale students, along with a group from Indiana University, will be serving others in Tanzania.
There are also possibilities to get involved with future University Childreach International service trips, too. Planning is under way for service trips to Morocco and India Dec. 27, 2012, to Jan. 9, 2013. To find out more about participating, students are welcome to attend informational meetings set for 6 p.m. April 17 and 19 in Quigley Hall, Room 208.
To learn more, visit the Childreach website at www.childreachusa.org or email fundraising@childreachusa.org.
Or, to find out about the University’s Childreach RSO or assisting members in funding their service efforts, contact Fuller at kmfuller@siu.edu. For additional details about the Taking (Giant Action) with Africa” event, contact Brianna Novelli at bnovelli@siu.edu or by calling 847/254-7160.