Fundraiser benefitting Haiti fund held at The Keg

By Roshan Nebhrajani

Over the weekend, The Keg of Evanston housed a crowd rivaling the busiest of Mondays.

The bar, 810 Grove St., played host to NU Cares at the Keg on Saturday. A $5 entry fee was applied to raise funds for the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.

“It was a great way to raise money,” Weinberg freshman Aleah Papessaid on her way to the dance floor. “A lot of people came out.”

The fundraiser was open to guests 18 and older until midnight. Event organizers said the night was put together in a little more than a week.

“Last Thursday I saw pictures of the devastation in Haiti and realized this is actually tragic,” said Daniel Diorio, a SESP senior. “We as talented students should do something about it.”

After making some phone calls, Diorio said he assembled a four-person dream team. Before this event, some organizers did not know one another.

“Rarely have I had an experience with a group that was so spontaneous and unstructured have such a great end result,” said Josh Brower, a Communication junior. “We just thought about who could do what and how we could make it bigger.”

As of Friday night, there were more than 1,000 confirmed guests on the event’s Facebook page.

Organizers said they were pleased with the unity that has emerged on campus in the wake of the tragedy.

“I feel like on a campus like this there are so many divisions,” Diorio said. “It’s a unique time for everyone to come together for a good cause.” Diorio.

Five of NU’s a cappella groups—Asterik, Freshmen 15, Purple Haze, THUNK and The Undertones—sang two songs each. They ended the event with a group rendition of Michael Jackson’s “Will You Be There.” The singers squeezed onto the stage, belting energetic harmonies that resonated throughout the venue.

“They were great, especially the last song,” Communication and Weinberg freshman Seana Peterson said.

After the performances, the bar remained open until 2 a.m. for guests 21 and older. Diorio said Jason Catanese, a Weinberg junior and member of The Undertones, was the first person he thought to call when he envisioned the event.

Catanese said “road bumps” along the way did not deter their efforts.

“We never thought it wasn’t going to happen,” he said. “We knew we would find some way to raise money. At the end of the night, we raised $5,166 and that’s not including the pending donations from other organizations.”

The funds will be added to NU’s Haitian disaster relief efforts. By the end of the month NU hopes to raise $8,000, University representatives said. Before the additional funds from NU Cares at The Keg, a little more than $3,000 has been raised.

Diorio said the event should not be seen as insensitive to the suffering of the Hatian people.

“NU Cares at The Keg was an opportunity to band socially for a global tragedy,” he said.

Source: Daily Northwestern