Kelly Saves the Gulf

Well, close enough.

My friend (and roommate) Kelly, and less importantly the Vice President of Communications for Sustain Mizzou (kidding), hosted her own rock concert to benefit the oil spill in the gulf. When Kelly was first appointed this position, she quickly envisioned hosting her own rock concert mixing environmentalism and her love for music. Not only did she envision it... and accomplish it, but she also did it with great success.

As all of us are aware (or should be, unless you're living in a cave) on April 20th a devastating explosion occurred in the Gulf of Mexico, possibly the largest oil spill in history.

As a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting a sustainable way of life, Sustain Mizzou wanted to help this environmental disaster. Kelly found this to be a perfect opportunity to mix her two passions. She would host a concert to raise money to send to the gulf.

She first needed to find a place to host her concert, and what a better place than the local concert venue/bar The Blue Fugue, which actually began in New Orleans. The owner was quick to confirm Kelly's request.

Kelly then gathered members of Sustain Mizzou and friends (myself included!) to help plan the event. We began looking for local artists that would help support the cause and in return we would help support them. Additionally, we decided to help raise money, it would be beneficial to sell raffle tickets, t-shirts, posters, etc. So we began to search for local restaurants that would sponsor the event, including Flat Branch, Main Squeeze, Kaldi's Coffeehouse, Lakota Coffee, Acme, Broadway Brewery, etc. Additionally, Tiger's Credit Union became the main sponsor. Lastly, we received a tremendous amount of help from the Craft Studio.

Before we could create anything, we needed a name! Finally genius president of Sustain Mizzou, Tina, came up with

Gulf Sounds... So simple, yet amazingly perfect. Once we decided on a name, the Craft Studio was able to create the amazing symbol of the event, the logo. Additionally, they created beautiful t-shirts, flyers, pamphlets, and a banner for the event.

The wonderful artists we found to play at the event include: Davis Dunavin, Kyle McDonald, The High Street Cousins, and The Nacho Brothers.

Davis Dunavin

Kyle McDonald

The High Street Cousins

We ended up raising over 500 dollars to divide among three organizations: the Environmental Defense Fund, the Greater New Orleans Foundation and the National Wildlife Federation. Each organization was carefully picked in order to help provide aid to the environment, the wildlife, and the community.

Final note:

So proud of my wonderful roomie!