|
by NIKKI ROBERTI
Lifestyles Reporter
The Michael Alvarado band has become a common name around campus after playing many concerts throughout the school year at Appalachian State University.
Now as the spring semester approaches a close, the band decided they wanted to give back.
The Michael Alvarado band is teaming up with Watauga County’s Habitat for Humanity chapter and will play a benefit concert at Legends April 15 at 9 p.m.
Tickets are $5 in advance and can be purchased at the Information Desk in the Plemmons Student Union until the day of the show.
Tickets are $7 at the door.
One
hundred percent of proceeds will go directly to Watauga Habitat for
Humanity, which will use the money for buying building materials for
the current project for local single dad, Mark Virginia and his two
daughters, band Business Manager and sophomore music industry studies
major J. Adam Sensenbrenner said.
The
proceeds will also go towards the building of a neighborhood near Green
Valley Elementary school, which the Watauga Habitat for Humanity
affiliates purchased 20.66 acres of land for last spring, Board
President for Watauga Habitat for Humanity and Assistant Director of
Teaching Fellows Janice Koppenhaver said.
Michael
Alvarado, the lead singer/songwriter for the band and junior music
industry major, came up with the idea for the benefit concert through a
project he was doing for his marketing class.
“We
already had a Legends date set up. Why not give something back?” he
said. “We have the ability to bring so many people to a show and I
think it would be kind of a waste if we didn’t do it for the good of
something else. It’s really important for us to find a meaning, and
find a cause that we can kind of donate to.”
If it
all goes as planned, Alvarado said, the band hopes to raise around
$3,000 or $4,000 to directly benefit Habitat for Humanity.
“We
wanted to keep it local through the Watauga Habitat chapter just
because a lot of people do charity benefits that go to a general cause
and people don’t know where their money is headed,” Sensenbrenner said.
“We wanted to make sure that we were giving back to the community
that’s given us a lot through this university, helped us to grow as
people and helped us get the music out there. We wanted benefit the
people who directly benefitted us.”
Appalachian
State University Habitat for Humanity, on campus chapter, is also
involved with the show through help with advertising and running the
booth at the concert.
“I was
very happy when I first heard of the show,” club co-president and
senior construction management major Timothy J. Bayless said. “I think
it is great that a local group is wanting to do a benefit concert for
such a great cause. I do think it will be a success because everyone I
have talked to knows of Michael Alvarado, enjoys his music and can’t
wait to attend his concert this semester.”
The club
is also helping build the two-story Virginia family house on weekends
along side other volunteers and the Virginia family themselves.
“It’s a
common misconception that Habitat for Humanity gives away houses,”
Koppenhaver said. “It’s not extreme home makeover. Each family puts in
250 working labor hours of sweat equity every weekend and then pays a
20 year mortgage. The family only pays what the land and materials
costs since the labor is volunteered.”
Koppenhaver
said Watauga Habitat for Humanity tries to make the buildings as
“green” as possible to make them both environmentally friendly and to
save money for the families in regards to heating costs.
Each Habitat for Humanity home costs about $75,000 to build.
After selling out Legends last semester with an audience of 450 people, of 1,000 people.
The band hopes to sell out again, which, if they succeed, will make them the first local act club show to ever do so at Legends.
“It’s very ambitious, but I think we can make it happen,” Alvarado said.
If
students are interested in volunteering with the Watauga Habitat for
Humanity chapter, e-mail
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
for more
information.
Trackback(0)
 |
TrackBack URI for this entry
Show/Hide comments