If you have ever been the president of a group here on campus, you know that while there are fun things about the job, it comes with many responsibilities with varying levels of importance. For COWBelles a capella, our most important event is the OneEighty benefit concert. Since 2017, the group has worked to put on this benefit concert in the spring semester to raise both money and awareness for the organization.
Despite the efforts of multiple groups on campus, if you ask the average student what exactly OneEighty does as an organization, most people wouldn’t be able to give you a specific answer other than the fact that they help victims of domestic violence. With an organization such as this one in our backyard, we should be knowledgeable about the services they offer and who they support. Outside of helping victims of domestic violence, OneEighty also provides services for those struggling with mental illness or addiction. OneEighty strives to help those in crisis not only when in an emergency, but throughout the healing and recovery process, as well as prevention work to educate the community.
OneEighty offers resources to students as well as the surrounding community, regardless of whether or not they are insured, providing financial support and coverage to individuals who may not be able to afford the services themselves. To show our support and to thank the organization, we host the benefit and welcome other a capella groups such as After These Messages, A Round of Monkeys and more! This year, we wanted to expand on this tradition and plan to welcome other organizations on campus whose mission statements also align with OneEighty’s to participate in the benefit, such as The Period Project and The Sexual Respect Coalition. We hope that with the addition of other campus organizations and the new expansion of this event, attendees will be able to learn more about OneEighty as an organization, and how their presence in our town has a positive impact on the community.
We believe that supporting OneEighty has so much importance for us as a group with a large population of members who exist within a multitude of marginalized communities, and our mission statement and purpose align closely with those of OneEighty. We want to continue to give a platform to an organization that does an incredible amount of work to help our community be a safe space for everyone. During the benefit concert, we give a short performance of songs dedicated to OneEighty At the benefit concert, there will be informational pamphlets about OneEighty, the services they offer, who they can help and information about domestic violence. By attending this benefit you could help to raise awareness for the organization which would then increase accessibility for so many others in the community that are unaware of the services offered by OneEighty. There is no charge to attend the benefit, but to show our support and thanks to OneEighty any donations that community members are able to give will be collected by a representative from the organization. The benefit concert will be on Sunday, April 30 in Gault Recital Hall in the afternoon, please look out for further details regarding the exact time.
The Wooster Voice 