Simon’s Rock students held a concert and raffle on Saturday, February 25 to benefit the Clinton A.M.E. Zion Church.
The fundraiser—which raised $1,300 for the Clinton Church restoration project—was the brainchild of the student club Rockers Engaged in Active Community Help (REACH), whose goal is to further student involvement in the local community and to create a stronger, more giving community both on campus and off. “A benefit concert seemed like the perfect opportunity to help an important community cause, while at the same time bringing community members to campus and showcasing the talent of Simon’s Rock students,” said REACH club leader Sara Fisher.
“I'm thrilled that Simon’s Rock and REACH are helping us attain our goal,” said Wray Gunn, chair of the Clinton Church Restoration board. “This has been a community-wide project from the beginning, but knowing that we have the support of students is especially heart warming.”
REACH wishes to thank the many local businesses, students, faculty, and staff who helped make this event a success.
Student vocalists and musicians wowed the audience with a range of contemporary, classic, and pop performances:
Raffle items included products and services from local businesses, and ceramic pieces, drawings, watercolors, photographs, and artwork donated by Simon’s Rock students and faculty members.
Local businesses: Triplex Cinemas, Mahaiwe Theater, Seven Salon Spa, Prairie Whale, Happy Nails, The Bagel Place, and Chartwells Dining Hall/Cafe.
Students, faculty, and staff contributors: Maryellen Serratos, Rachel Shi, Jiunix Apelin, Ben Kruptea, Zeda Wolf, Toni Bellamy-Talbot, Brian Liu, Jamie Hammer, Valerie Fanarjian, Lee Rogers,
Isabelle Long, Maryellen Serratos, Maddie Eppley, Emmy Sandstedt, Athena Nakrosis, Olivia Arthen, Jessica Adcock, Giulia de Gennaro, Katanna Dion-Bernier, Estella Lumer, Rachelle Sutanto, Whitney MacIntyre, Myles Vinci, Matthew Stabile, Anne Devlin, Nasia Voung, Novia Voung, Eric Cao, Karanina Bhattacharjee, Charlotte Windover, Moamer Alsaedi, and Kiahna Eve Esquea.
Valerie Fanarjian, Isabel Filkins, John Musall, Sandy Cleary, Anne O'Dwyer, with special thanks to club advisor Valencia Washington.
The Clinton A.M.E. Zion Church, located at 9 Elm Court, Great Barrington, Massachusetts,
has been a spiritual and political home to Great Barrington’s African-American community
and an influential forum for W.E.B. Du Bois. The church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Upper Housatonic
Valley African American Heritage Trail.
The Clinton Church Restoration Project was established to purchase, preserve, and
restore the church for community use in a manner that celebrates and honors the local
African-American community, W.E.B. Du Bois’ legacy, Great Barrington’s history, African-American
spiritual tradition, and as a living space to cultivate racial unity and solidarity.