This was the question asked by Independent Council (IC) at our second annual Front Row Foundation Benefit Concert. After almost four exciting months of planning, all of our Philanthropy Committee's hard work paid off on April 9th at Serendipity Martini Bar & Restaurant.
The Front Row Foundation is an organization that provides front row tickets to the performance event of choice (concert, sporting event, etc.) to terminally ill patients. This encourages patients to "live life in the front row". As a social-philanthropic organization for non-Greek women on campus, IC chooses one philanthropy to support each semester. Since we had success throwing a benefit concert for Front Row last spring, we decided to support the foundation again this year with a higher fundraising goal: $1,000.
Philanthropy Committee: Katelyn Mehling, Tatiana DeWitt, Cecelia Phillippe,
Melissa MacNeur, Kendra Corrigan, Katie Healy, and Marisa Pyatt.
As a member of the Philanthropy Committee, I got to witness all of the behind-the-scenes work that went into the benefit concert, which made the actual event that much more special. From contacting bands to perform at our concert to reaching out to local businesses to sponsor the event, the seven of us committee members worked to make our philanthropy as successful as possible under the guidance and support of our fearless leader and committee chair Melissa MacNeur.
When the night of our event finally arrived, we decorated Serendipity with balloons and posters to celebrate Front Row and put fliers on each table that told the stories of different people who have been affected by the foundation. As people started to flood in, the realization that our event was finally here started to set in. Local performers Ladies First, Tyler Brooks, Lexi King and Josh Mendoza, Sam Moorin, and Oferle set the tone for a fun-filled night. People danced, sung, and came together to support our cause that had become so important to us.
Ladies First acapella group performing at the benefit concert.
The Moment of Truth...After months of preparation, the moment of truth finally came near the end of the concert when we sat down to count how much money we had raised for Front Row. Anxiously, I waited to hear what our total was. After careful counting, we realized that not only did we meet our goal, we surpassed it by about $300! Thanks to the help of some amazing IC women, we raised about $1,300 for Front Row through ticket sales, donations, and proceeds from a Dine-N-Donate event at Red Mango.
Celebrating all of our hard work, the philanthropy committee owned the dance floor as Oferle closed out the show with a cover of "I Want You Back" by the Jackson 5. As we sang, danced and laughed, I knew I had found my home away from home at IU.
During my first year in IC, I can whole-heartedly say that throwing the benefit concert for Front Row was my proudest moment. I'm so excited to continue to make memories with these ladies over the next three years while making a difference in the lives of others.
IC Love, Always!