Rock for the Cure raises for research

By Olivia Obineme

Published: Sunday, March 29, 2009

Students crowded Paws Tuesday night in support of the Rock for the Cure concert, hosted by Tau Kappa Epsilon. This event was TKE’s first Rock for the Cure concert, which helped raise more than $500 for their newly chosen philanthropy, St. Jude’s Research.

The show featured live music from four bands, including the opening act Infinitum. LVT, one of the headlining bands included TKE alumnus, Chris “Tree” Richardson and Fraternity and Sorority Life coordinator Christian Miele, a Sigma Pi alumnus. The band Rescue the Hero was a headliner as well.

TKE fundraising chair and Interfraternity Council vice president for public relations C.T. Sartory said, “I loved their sound. They sounded like The Roots with a little bit more edge.”

According to the rapper, Joey Aikins, the foursome has been an official band for only a month and a half.

“It’s a brand new thing, but things have been going well. We have been offered a lot of shows,” Aikins said. “I’ve never made any money off of my music, but if it can help someone else out that’s absolutely great. It’s a beautiful thing.”

To raise more money TKE brothers took the stage for a date auction. Students were bidding from $10 to $45 to go out with selected brothers. Auctioned with the brothers were gift certificates to places such as Greene Turtle, T.G.I. Fridays and Bahama Breeze. TKE’s previous philanthropy was the National Alzheimer’s Foundation, which the national fraternity chose in memory of Ronald Regan, according to Sartory.

“But when a brother here found St. Jude’s Medical Research, we couldn’t not raise money for such a great cause,” he said.

Nevertheless, the change did not seem to have discouraged students from attending and donating. “We had over 350 people who were really jamming out and we made over $500,” Sartory said. According to Sartory, Towson TKE still raises money for the National Alzheimer’s Foundation.

“There is nothing worse than seeing a young child stricken with an illness that’s incurable, so we are going to do anything we can  to raise as much money and as much awareness for that as possible” Sartory said. “You can bet that this won’t be the last event that TKE does here.”

Courtesy of The Towerlight