Elizabethtown College’s Education Organization (Ed Org) will be hosting their annual ataxia telangiectasia (A-T) benefit on Saturday, Jan. 24 at 7 p.m. in Leffler Chapel and Performance Center.
Ed Org is a club in the Education Department. Their mission is to provide an atmosphere in which future educators feel safe, accepted and motivated to become successful teachers. The club participates in many social and service activities throughout the year such as literacy nights at the local library, volunteering for the Ronald McDonald House, after-school tutoring and many on-campus events such as Into the Streets.
This year will be Ed Org’s tenth annual A-T benefit where all of the funds raised from their ticket, merchandise and raffle sales will go directly to the A-T Children’s Project. The president of the Education Organization, Andrea Keller, said, “The A-T Children’s Project is a non-profit organization that aims to raise funds for research to find life-improving and eventually a cure for A-T.”
A-T is a rare genetic disease that affects children, which causes a progressive loss of muscle control, immune system problems, and a much higher rate of cancer. For more information on A-T, visit atcp.org.
The benefit will have performances from Etown’s campus performing groups, including Emotion, the Dance Team, Melica, Vocalign, Phalanx and Mad Cow.
In addition to ticket sales, Ed Org will also be raffling off prizes during the entire month of February. “Individuals can purchase raffle tickets and then each day during the month of February a prize will be given,” Keller said. “Prizes can include gift cards to local business such as Folklore and TJ Rockwell’s as well as prize baskets such as Breakfast in Bed and Chocolate Addiction. There is no limit to the number of prizes someone can win through this raffle, so if they win one day, their ticket will be placed back in the raffle for the potential to win the next day.” Tickets for these raffles are $1 for two tickets or $5 for 12 tickets.
Each year before the event, families affected by A-T are invited to have dinner with the Ed Org board and faculty members. They are also invited to come to the concert.
“This is a great event and a great cause because it keeps our Ed Org members as well as the college community connected to a wonderful organization (A-T Children’s Project),” Keller said. “Our club is service oriented, so giving back to the community and helping those in need is one thing that we are all very passionate about, so as a club we try to do as much as we can.”
Tickets for the benefit concert cost $5, purchasable in the BSC on Jan. 22 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Jan. 23 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tickets are also available for purchase before the show. The doors will open at 6:30 p.m.
