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Campus & Community

Student concert to aid Haiti

3 min read

Set for Feb. 12 at Sanders Theatre

As medical relief efforts following Haiti’s devastating earthquake begin to shift toward stabilizing the battered island nation, including feeding, supporting, and housing the survivors, the need for monetary support remains vast. Haiti has many surgical teams, tents, and trucks in place now. But those ongoing efforts require strong fiscal support, as will the upcoming rehabilitation and rebuilding.

To that end, on Feb. 12, Harvard student artists, in collaboration with the Office for the Arts, will host a benefit concert to raise much-needed funds for Haitian relief.

Harvard student artists, including noted pianist Charlie Albright ’11, jazz pianist Malcolm Campbell ’10, and dancer Merritt Moore ’10 of the Zurich Ballet Co. will perform, along with student singing and dance troupes, including the Kuumba Singers, the Harvard Glee Club, the Harvard Caribbean Club Dance Troupe, and the Modern Dance Company. The two-hour concert will take place at Sanders Theatre, 7 to 9 p.m. Tickets are available through the Harvard Box Office (617.496.2222). The University and the Office for the Arts are underwriting production costs so that all proceeds from ticket sales can go directly to Partners In Health, a nonprofit group that has been working in Haiti for decades.

Harvard students, deciding to tap into their own talent to help, developed the concept and organized the benefit concert.

“The responsiveness, dedication, and skills of the students and faculty are the backbone of the Harvard community,” said B.A. Sillah ’12, one of the concert’s student organizers. “And when we asked the community for help, they gave us a resounding yes.”

The evening will feature approximately 12 performances, a video highlighting the relief efforts of Partners In Health in Haiti, and readings of poetry and prose by Harvard students. To widen the audience beyond Sanders Theatre’s four walls, the University will broadcast a live feed of the concert. More details about the event will be available through a link at http://www.harvard.edu/haiti when they become available.

While the concert’s proceeds will help Haiti, another effort is under way on campus to support Harvard employees who have been directly affected by the disaster. Harvard University, in partnership with the Harvard University Credit Union, announced a new emergency relief fund last week. Harvard affiliates can donate online. Eligible employees can apply for grants.

In addition, a two-hour charity event at the Queen’s Head pub, sponsored by Harvard Public Affairs and Communications, recently raised $650 for Haitian relief. That’s enough money for Partners In Health to treat 30 malnourished children for a month.

This week, the Harvard Graduate School of Education announced a goal of raising an additional $5,000 by Feb. 5, also to support Partners In Health.

There are many ways to help. Harvard faculty and staff still can donate to Haiti relief programs of their choice through the Community Gifts Through Harvard program.

For more information on the range of relief activities and resources benefiting Haiti, go to http://www.harvard.edu/haiti.