Asbury for Darfur Hope Concert
Concert to raise funds for kindergarten in the Sudan to be held in a joint effort between Asbury Seminary and Asbury College.
The amount of money some Americans spend on a used car or a fancy high-def TV can build a kindergarten in Darfur, a western region of Sudan. That's what students at an Asbury Seminary chapel service heard last fall-only $4500 could build an entire kindergarten that would benefit children in a Sudanese refugee camp.
That explanation was all the motivation Asbury student Michelle Terwilleger needed. "I sent out an e-mail and a handful of students responded and we formed ‘Asbury for Darfur.'" The group has been raising money for the last few months, but now it will host what it hopes to be its biggest fundraiser yet-a concert with contemporary Christian artists Brandon Heath and Robbie Seay Band.
The concert is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 29, in Hughes Auditorium on Asbury College's campus in Wilmore. A pre-concert event with Jason McAnally and BASIC will begin at 7 p.m.; the concert with Brandon Heath and Robbie Seay Band will begin at 8 p.m.
The theme of the concert is "HOPE in the Desert," bringing attention to the genocide taking place in the Sudan. More than two million people have been driven from their homes and villages and about 400,000 people have died. It's easy to feel paralyzed in the face of such horror, but Asbury students are choosing to do something positive for the people trying to survive in the midst of this situation.
J.D. Walt, vice president of community life at Asbury Seminary says, "This is being sponsored by Asbury House of Prayer along with both Asbury College and Seminary. It has been student initiated, developed and led. The purpose is to raise awareness about the crisis in Darfur, to educate and enlist people in the quest to provide aid and advocacy, and to infuse hope through a concert of song and prayer."
For more information about the artists:
Brandon Heath: www.myspace.com/brandonheath
Robbie Seay Band: www.myspace.com/robbieseayband
Concert tickets are $10 each. Children 12 and under free; a children's love offering will be received. All proceeds go to build a kindergarten in a Sudanese Refugee Camp.