Last Friday night, April 1, Student United Way hosted a concert to benefit the United Way Born Learning program, which promotes the education of children under the age of six in Madison County.
The Five Saxes, Luke Stafford and Overtime supplied the entertainment for the evening. Raffle baskets full of items from the community were offered, with a grand prize of dinner with President Pistole.
Gordon Housman, who plays bass in Overtime, said that he enjoyed being part of an event that helps the community in a fun way.
“There was an amazing and generous crowd,” said Housman. “I was happy to contribute.”
Tessa Williams, a sophomore public relations major, is the president of Student United Way at AU. She said the event was a huge success.
“We didn’t have a large audience, but we did raise a lot of money for Born Learning,” Williams said.
There was also an anonymous donor who matched the funds that were raised at the event. All together, the event raised $1,400, the highest amount that has ever been raised from one single event.
Young people, especially college students, have historically been very heavily involved with charities and other ways of giving back to their communities.
Passionate, vocal and desperate for change, young people have shaped our culture for decades, inciting political upheavals, inspiring others and determining the path that their community follows;
However, a lot of times it can be hard for college students to find a way to give back in meaningful ways, leading to inaction and disillusionment overall with the idea of charity. All of this comes simply from the fact they aren’t sure how to give back.
Every year, many students on this campus express interest in getting involved in charitable works. Lately, a lot of talk has been buzzing around campus about real, actionable ways to get involved with the local Anderson community. A lot of this seems to spring from many of the president’s conversations about developing Anderson’s brand.
“I think that Student United Way is going to grow a lot in the next few years,” Williams said.
This event represents not only a continuation of AU’s unity with the city of Anderson, but a growth in the right direction of increasing our involvement with communities everywhere that we can. As a faith-based institution, we have every incentive to show the way for other colleges of our sort.