Bradley’s new chapter of To Write Love On Her Arms entertained students with 11 straight hours of live music and entertainment last Saturday in Lydia’s Lounge despite last minute monetary issues.
“To Write Love On Her Arms has always been deeply rooted in music and its ability to reach out to people in ways no other medium can, [and] at some point someone had the idea to host a concert,” said the chapter’s Vice President Jessica Dobson. “I believe the event was a complete success considering it was our first year and we were working with a $70 budget acquired from membership dues.”
There were several challenges the group had to overcome to arrange the event, Dobson said.
“There was a lack of funding and I had to book performers long before I could reserve a spot on campus for the event,” she said. “Everything just had to happen quickly and so Saturday morning I gave the tech crew a contract saying we were personally responsible for coming up with the $410 for their services.
“I was terrified that we wouldn’t make enough money to cover the tech costs, but we’d worked too hard and overcome too much for us to cancel the concert over something as petty as money.”
In the end, the event raised just enough money to cover the tech expenses, Dobson said.
“I refused to let myself count the money throughout the day, finally giving in between our last two performers in case we needed to make a desperate plea to the crowd, and found that we’d reached $400 by 10 p.m.,” she said. “Within five minutes, a few more people walked through the door and we reached our goal.”
Dobson said she was amazed that they were able to reach their fundraising goal.
“All in all, we made $420 with 90 people in attendance in addition to dozens of performers, volunteers and a few stragglers who wandered in from getting food at Lydia’s Lounge,” she said. “Considering admission was only $3, the majority of money made was from donations. Amazing.”
Junior theater arts major Krystal Uhl said she really enjoyed the event.
“I went to the concert to see The Dirty Gentlemen play, and not only were they fantastic, but the rest of the entertainment was incredible as well,” she said. “Some people did stand up, some people read poems and there were many bands that played so it was a really great show.”
Uhl said she was surprised there weren’t more people in attendance.
“The publicity was lacking for some reason because not many people came to the event, which is unfortunate because it’s supporting a great cause,” she said. “It was a great cause and idea, and I only wish more people had come.”
Sophomore theater performance major Ross Cochran said he also enjoyed the event.
“It was a really good time. Really talented bands,” he said. “Unfortunately it was not very well-received, as in it was pretty empty. I was supposed to do some stand up comedy but was unable to because of the lack of audience. It was definitely not because of lack of effort by the TWLOHA people. They did the best they could and it’s unfortunate the result wasn’t there.”
All students are invited to join chapter meetings at 8 p.m. every Thursday. The location of the meeting, which changes on a weekly basis, can be found on the TWLOHA chapter’s Facebook.
TWLOHA is a non-profit group dedicated to providing support for people suffering from depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide.
On-campus counseling is available free through the Wellness Center. Students can make appointments by calling (309) 677-3381.
