Class project becomes benefit for Haitians
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BY MICHAEL McHALE / Lincoln Journal Star
As business courses go, the list of requirements can be pretty basic.
Homework? Check. Exams? Check.
Live music?
What: VOTA, Remedy Drive and Staggerford in the Water for Life benefit concert.
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: Nebraska East Union, University of Nebraska-Lincoln East Campus.
Admission: All ages: $10 in advance at waterforlife.ticketleap.com; $13 at the door or $10 with valid student I.D.
Earlier this fall, students in one of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s upper-level business classes were asked to complete a service-learning project. They had to figure out ways to benefit people and carry through on their proposals.
Levi Nelson and three of his classmates chose an unconventional route. They combined their interests in music and international affairs to organize a benefit concert for the Water for Life program in Haiti, which raises money to drill wells in a country historically parched for fresh water.
They’ll see the fruits of their labor Friday night, when nationally known Lincoln bands VOTA (formerly Casting Pearls) and Remedy Drive take the stage in the Great Plains Room in the Nebraska East Union on UNL’s East Campus. Local rock/pop group Staggerford also will join the scene.
“We realized from the get-go that this is quite a big task,” Nelson said. “But we were all excited.”
Securing bands like VOTA certainly helped. The rock group is taking a break from a regional tour to play in its hometown this week, just days after releasing its newest album featuring the single “Hard to Believe,” which has hit radio waves in recent weeks.
Remedy Drive and Staggerford were a little easier to convince. Nelson, a guitarist, knew both groups from his experience in the local music scene.
“Being in a band before,” Nelson said, “I kind of knew what they needed.”
That included a sound system, a stage, fees and an audience. Nelson and his group posted fliers on campus and contacted local youth groups. They sold package-deal tickets to several church organizations, invited friends on Facebook and secured some local advertising.
What’s more, they found musicians willing to part from the bar scene. Remedy Drive, for instance, got its start in 2000 playing shows outside the Nebraska Union on City Campus. But the quartet of brothers have gone national since then, spending most of their time playing Christian rock from coast to coast. Lead vocalist David Zach said he can’t even remember the last time he played at UNL.
“I got to be grateful and thankful for the fact I play music for a living,” Zach said. “This is the opportunity of a lifetime … Friday’s going to be special.”
And maybe in more ways than one. The students hope to raise enough money to pay for a new well in a Haitian town, which would cost about $1,500, Nelson said. He thinks it’s possible.
The way his group sees it, anything is.
“The purpose of the event is to get excited to look beyond the city of Lincoln and see people are in need in other places,” Nelson said. “And to have a good time.”
Reach Michael McHale at 473-7254 or mmchale@journalstar.com.
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