Harmony for Hope Showcases Walkersville Talent and Raises Money for a Great Cause
by Caleb Engle
On Wednesday January 25th, the Key Club hosted Harmony for Hope in the auditorium, a talent show showcasing acts performed by both students and teachers, all for a good cause.
Last year, proceeds of the event went towards the charity Eliminate. This year, however, all proceeds go directly to the Thirst Project, which helps countries in need of clean water.
“[Harmony for Hope] is a fundraiser that doesn’t cost us any money to run,” said science teacher Erica Carbone, “so all of the money that we get goes to the Thirst project.” Carbone helped lead the organization of the event with the Key Club.
“Last year Key Club was partnered with Eliminate because that was main project,” said Key Club President Roshni Patel, who also helped organize the event. “This year, they added a new charity, which was the Thirst project, which helps get clean water to different countries.”
The program, hosted by seniors Cody Strange and Olivia Ruth, was cut into two acts, the first of which was kicked off by seniors Anthony DeVincentis and Joey Edwards who performed “Hallelujah,” and followed by Rachel Wilson who sang “Say Something,” by Great Big World. Other performances in the first act included Adele’s “All I Ask,” sung by Faith Gordon, Elijah Oliver singing “Rise Up,” by Andra Day, Ishara Joseph who sang “Let It Go,” by James Bay, and finally Megan McGee and Ruth who performed “With You,” from Ghost the Musical.
Following the ending of the first act, Strange took a moment to talk about the Thirst charity, and the issue of clean water that our world faces, stating that over 663 million people do not have access to clean water.
Following a brief intermission came the second act which was started off by English teacher Rebekah May, who sang “Make You Feel My Love” by Adele. Tori Puchowski and Lydia Pederson followed up with a reading of an emotional letter from Union Major Sullivan Ballou to his wife Sarah a week before he died in the the famous American Civil War battle the First Battle of Bull Run.
Strange and Ruth then took another moment to remind us that Thirst will be providing freshwater to villages in need in Swaziland. Junior Kathy Krantz and music teacher Lucas Hogan were next up, and played Telemann’s sax duet “Sonata No. 6.” Audrey McClatchie then played “River Flows In You” on the violin, and Rachel Boyd finished the night by singing “Somewhere Over The Rainbow.”
“I like that [Harmony for Hope] showcases talent in the school that we don’t get to see often,” said Carbone.
“We did auditions before winter break,” said Patel, when asked about the preparation that went into the show. “We had two rehearsals, one in early January, and one [the day before].”
“Me and Joey didn’t practice a whole lot because of our schedules,” said DeVincentis concerning his performance of “Hallelujah,” which he opened the show with on his guitar along with Edwards on the base. Despite this he added, “We weren’t nervous performing. It was fun.”
You can support the Thirst Project by going to their website www.thirstproject.org, where they have information about the issue of clean water access around the globe, and how you can help.
