Last Saturday evening, Feb. 13, the AU chapter of To Write Love on Her Arms hosted its first event of the semester—a concert in Mocha Joe’s. The free concert, which was titled “LOVEGROOVE,” featured several acts. Krista Baker, president of the AU chapter of TWLOHA, said that the night’s purpose was to bring awareness of the club to campus.
TWLOHA is a national nonprofit organization that aims to increase awareness about suicide and mental illnesses. Their goal, according to Baker, is to bring “hope to the hopeless and help to the helpless.”
Baker hoped that LOVEGROOVE would reflect the national organization’s goals.“We want this to be an event where people can come together and know that they’re not alone and that there’s people struggling, and that hope is real and help is real,” Baker said. “They are worthy and they are loved.”
Concertgoers experienced just the mood that Baker had hoped for. Audience members interacted with the artists, while standing close to the stage and talking to them in between songs, which created an intimate experience.
Luke Stafford, Nanook and the Weightlifters, Ben Watson and the Southbound Band, Sink In and Jess Smothers all performed during the three-hour concert event.
Baker said that members of TWLOHA wished to “bring people together to celebrate a night of music, a night filled with hope and love, and just to bring people out of the cold to unite as a campus and as a community and be there for one another.”
In addition to getting students more involved with TWLOHA, Baker hopes that the club will increase its presence on campus as a safe place. She said that they want people to know that it is okay to not be okay, and that it is okay to ask for help when they find themselves overwhelmed or feeling down.
Baker hopes that, through events like LOVEGROOVE, TWLOHA will reestablish itself on campus. After its official chartering last year, the chapter lost its official status with the organization after its officers graduated or left AU. When Baker arrived to campus in August, she was quick to step up, acting as president and helping the club to regain its chapter status last semester.
“We are really trying to branch out this semester and just get to know people on campus and be there for them as much as we can,” Baker said.
Baker urged that anyone who is interested in getting involved can come to meetings, follow the group on social media or send an email to the TWLOHA email address. “The door is always open,” Baker said.
TWLOHA meets on Monday nights at 9 p.m. in Hartung 103.