A Battle of the Bands Raises Funds for Gift of Life
Dec 19, 2011 by Gift of Life
News
Last summer, Zach, vice president of Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi) Omega at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, sent out an email to his fellow brothers asking for potential philanthropy ideas. He was approached by Gabe, the AEPi Omega philanthropy chairperson, with the unique idea of hosting a Battle of the Bands event at a local venue to raise funds and recruit bone marrow donors for Gift of Life.
The idea came to Gabe after his friend and high school classmate was diagnosed with Leukemia. He knew he wanted to do something in honor of his friend, who was also friends with several of Gabe’s AEPi brothers. He asked his friend’s mother if she knew of any charities that benefit patients with leukemia, and she pointed him in Gift of Life’s direction. Gabe knew it would be the perfect organization to host a fundraiser for, and he was inspired by his cousin’s Battle of the Bands fundraiser event. Once the philanthropy idea was approved, they began planning.
Over the course of two months, Gabe and Zach secured a venue, recruited bands, and marketed their event. Many bands sent in demo tapes for review, and the eight best were selected to play at the event and battle each other for a prize. Flyers were placed around the university to advertise the fundraiser, and they reached out to campus music and Greek organizations to get them involved, as well. Every day leading up to the event, they had a booth set up in the pit, a place to meet up and hang out on campus, and sold tickets and t-shirts to the Battle of the Bands.
The epic battle took place on November 10th. Bands began playing at 9 in the evening, lasted well into the night, and at least 100 people were there at any given time. Friends, fans of the bands, and other attendees used their entry ticket as their voting stub and were able to cast their vote for their favorite group. People were given the chance to join the bone marrow registry while they attended the event, and 30 new donors were added to the registry. The Battle of the Bands was a smashing success and raised approximately $4,000 for Gift of Life!
The brothers of AEPi Omega plan on hosting another Battle of the Bands fundraiser next semester, with funds again going to Gift of Life. It is their hope that the next one will be even more successful. Though the planning had its challenges, it was worth it. Gabe, Zach, and the rest of AEPi loved seeing all of their hard work pay off; people came out to enjoy a night of great music, camaraderie, and helped a wonderful cause in the process.
If you are interested in hosting your own fundraiser or donor drive for Gift of Life, contact the Recruitment team at recruitment@giftoflife.org
