SGR Spectacular to be held this Friday

The Students for Global Responsibility (SGR) Spectacular, a charity event featuring student and area performers, will be held on Friday, Dec. 14 from 7 to 10:30 p.m. There is a suggested $5 contribution; all proceeds will be donated to Habitat for Humanity and the St. Bernard Project to help fund rebuilding in New Orleans.

The annual event, organized by SGR, will take on a Mardi Gras theme and showcase talents that range from classic rock and slam poetry to hip-hop and break dancing. Local restaurants such as Starbucks, Fajita Coast and Austin Grill have donated food for the Spectacular which will be available to guests upon entrance and help the organization's goal of raising at least $1,000 foor Hurricane Katrina relief. "Most of the money raised comes from food purchases," said SGR co-President David Fegley.

Last year's Spectacular raised $1,400 last year for Doctors without Borders. This year, according to Fegley, the organizers decided to shift their focus to destruction and tragedy closer to home. The club felt that, "while international conflicts are important, the disaster in New Orleans had not been receiving enough coverage since only a few months after it happened," said SGR co-President Ben Simon.

Both Habitat for Humanity and the St. Bernard Project are new to the SGR Spectacular, which attempts to donate to a different charity each year. "We've been doing the SGR Spectacular for the last seven years that I've been involved with the club and each year we seek out a new charity in an attempt to diversify our funds," said Club Adviser George Vlastis.

"What it all comes down to in the end is helping the people and we feel that both of these charities will successfully do that," said Fegley.

SGR does recognize the difficulty in raising funds at a school event. "It's tough having only students donate as students typically don't have money to give or choose not to," Simon said. The club, does hope students "will give more than is asked," said co-President David Meyer. "These victims are in desperate need of aid."

This week, posters have been placed around the school and InfoFlow will air announcements as the club tries to publicize the event. "Last year we had a great attendance and hope to repeat those numbers this year and raise even more money," said Meyer.

Editor's Note: David Fegley and David Meyer are page editors on Silver Chips Print.