NHS Voices And Performances Raise Funds For Haiti

By Eliza Hallabeck

The effort of Newtown High School staff, students, parents, and community members raised roughly $2,700 on Thursday, April 1, for relief efforts in Haiti when the Voices for Haiti Benefit Concert took the stage in the NHS auditorium.

The Voices for Haiti Benefit Concert came together through the efforts co-organizers Jennifer Davidson and Amanda Friedman and a planning committee, Joanna Diaz, Jennifer Huettner, Larry Saladin, and Elizabeth Ward.

“We are thrilled with the turnout,” said Ms Davidson Monday by email, “the performances, and, most important, the amount of money we were able to raise for Save the Children’s efforts in Haiti. It was beyond our expectations.”

All proceeds from the concert will be donated to Save the Children, a nonprofit organization working to create positive, lasting change for disadvantaged children, to go toward rebuilding efforts in Haiti.

After Ms Friedman watched initial reports on the earthquake in Haiti, she wanted to create something in Newtown for the community to help. She then contacted NHS Assistant Principal Jason Hiruo, who put her in contact with Ms Davidson. Once the pair was together, the idea soon formed into a community event to raise money.

Thursday’s concert, which brought students, faculty, one administrator, a singing group from the University of Connecticut, and a Save the Children representative to the stage, raised $2,700 for the cause, combined with a bake sale in the school’s lobby.

“We would like to thank all students, staff, faculty, and parents that made this night possible,” said Ms Friedman on Monday, “The night was a tremendous success due to the dedication, hard work, and contributions from the community.”

During opening remarks for the evening, NHS teacher Jay Edwards thanked the audience for coming out as a community to support the relief effort work.

Since the earthquake happened on January 12, Save the Children representative Adam Keehn has visited the area twice, and on Thursday he spoke to the audience about its support and how the area is now.

“As you probably know, the earthquake itself lasted for less than one minute,” said Mr Keehn. “Just imagine for a second, in the 60 seconds it took me to walk out here to begin my talk, the shaking that shook Port-Au-Prince and the areas around the capital city of Haiti caused more destruction than any previous earthquake in recorded history.”

The damage, he said, has been to government offices, schools, and hospitals.

“It is safe to say nobody in that city was untouched by the earthquake itself,” Mr Keehn said.

Before the earthquake, Save the Children had about 160 staff members working in the area, according to Mr Keehn, and since the earthquake there are roughly 700 staff members now working in the area.

“It is thanks to contributions like those you are all making tonight that our staff are able to deliver the life-saving programs that we do,” Mr Keehn said.

After Mr Keehn spoke, Mr Edwards, who was the MC for the night, introduced the first performance of the event, the NHS Singers. The a cappella singing group performed “Eleanor Rigby,” “I Will,” and “Blackbird,” all by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and “Sing Me To Heaven” by Gawthrop.

Dance, Etc had two performances during the evening, the first was set to Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel” and the second was to Nicole Nordeman’s “Build.”

The XY Chomotones, an all-male student a cappella group formed at the school this year under the direction of Ms Friedman, sang The Tokens’s “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” and Billy Joel’s “For the Longest Time.”

The Detentions, a faculty band comprising Assistant Principal Scott Clayton, science teacher Chris Canfield, Director of Security Mark Pompano and English teacher Ellie Hannah, performed The Who’s “My Generation,” Jefferson Airplane’s “Medley,” Eddie Cochran’s “Summertime Blues,” and Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll.”

The University of Connecticut’s co-ed a cappella group A-Minor sang “Gaven’s Song” by Marc Broussard, “Everywhere You Look,” which is The Full House theme song, “Walk Humbly, Son” by Eddie From Ohio, and “It Don’t Have to Change” by John Legend.

NHS Senior Greg Padovano performed The Police’s “Walk on the Moon.”

The NHS Jazz Ensemble performed Sammy Netico’s “C.B Express,” John Coltrane’s “Impressions” and Dennis DiBlasio’s “Coconut Champagne.”

The last performances for the night came from Show Me The Skyline, an NHS student band comprising Theo Hartlett, Marco Luzzi, and Larzz Principato. The band performed their own songs called “May,” “Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is,” “I Can’t Explain It,” and “Far From Being a Star.”

To view video of some of the performances from the concert go to www.newtownbee.com.

For more information on Save the Children, or to donate to the cause, go to www.savethechildren.org.