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Relief Concert Exceeds Goal


Dickinson College students have raised more than $17,000 in donations—$7,000 more than their goal—to benefit victims of the recent earthquake in Haiti. Their efforts culminated in a relief concert last Friday at the Carlisle Theatre. The theatre was filled with nearly 1,000 students and community members.

“I was so proud of the Dickinson College community on Friday night and I am so happy to live in such a kind and caring community,” said concert co-organizer Lee Tankle ’10, president of the student senate. “It is absolutely incredible that we were able to put this show together in under five weeks.”

Nine Dickinson performing groups—the Octals, Syrens, Infernos, D-Tones, Dance Theatre Group, Synergy, Hypnotic, Third Degree Step Team, and the Dickinson College String Quartet—were joined onstage by community groups REACH! and the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Alexandra Baranick '10, chair of the Haiti benefit concert committee, hosted the show [article continues below].


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  • REACH!, shown above, is a hip-hop dance group that improves students' academic performance by engaging them in the performing arts.
    REACH!
  • Daniella Aldrich, a student at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet (CPYB), performs. CPYB is an internationally renowned classical-ballet school and performing company with studios in Carlisle and nearby Harrisburg.
    CPYB- Daniella Aldrich
  • CPYB students wait for their moment in the spotlight.
    CPYB
  • A student/faculty quartet performs the evening's classical-music selections. Performers (from left): Aubrey Holmes '11, Braydon Downing '13, Blanka Bednarz, associate professor of music, and guest-artist Cheung Chau, visiting professor from Haverford College.
    String Quartet
  • The D-Tones perform contemporary hits.
    D-Tones
  • A member of the D-Tones takes a solo. The oldest coed a cappella group on campus, the ensemble performs a minimum of two concerts each academic year.
    D-tones
  • The Dance Theatre Group (DTG), Dickinson's student dance company, performs an electrifying number.
    DTG
  • The Infernos, a Dickinson coed a cappella group, takes the stage.
    Infernos
  • Dickinson’s improv comedy group, Run with It!, performs in all its zany glory. The student-led troupe combines ad-lib comedy with game-show stunts—a format popularized by the ABC television show "Whose Line is it Anyway?"
    Run With It!
  • Members of the 2009-10 Run with It! comedy troupe generate some laughs.
    Run With It!
  • Synergy is a Dickinson hip-hop dance group that performs in multiple fundraisers throughout the academic year.
    Synergy
  • Hypnotic pleases the crowd with postmodern entertainment.
    Hypnotic
  • The Hypnotic dance team presents edgy choreography in an energized performance.
    Hypnotic
  • A member of the Octals performs a solo.
    Octals
  • Members of The Octals, Dickinson's a cappella male vocal group, perform a popular tune.
    Octals
  • Third Degree, Dickinson College's step team, moves in perfect synchronicity.
    Third Degree
  • The Syrens, Dickinson's only a cappella female singing group, performs.
    Syrens
  • Fiery lighting, courtesy of Carlisle theatre's tech crew, enhances the Syrens' performance. The crew worked pro bono.
    Syrens
  • Two Dickinson dance groups, Hypnotic and Synergy, come together to perform a traditional Haitian dance.
    Haitian Dance
  • For the show's finale, all four of Dickinson's a cappella groups joined together to sing the pop tune Don't Stop Believing. The optimistic theme of this song embodied the hopeful spirit of all who contributed to the concert.
    Ensemble
  • An oversized check symbolizes the super-sized success of the Dickinson Haiti-relief fundraising effort. Organizers raised more than $17,000.
    Large-Scale Success
  • Audience members chat after the show. The concert drew a packed house of approximately 1,000 audience members.
    Carlsle Theatre
REACH!, shown above, is a hip-hop dance group that improves students' academic performance by engaging them in the performing arts. Prev ImageNext Image

Organizers raised $17,124 and anticipate more donations, which they will send to ServeHaiti and EcoFiltro, nonprofit organizations with Dickinson-alumni connections that support Haiti relief.

ServeHaiti sends teams of medical professionals and laypersons to Haiti to deliver supplies and medicine and to perform medical triage and special projects. Peter Anderson ’73 is treasurer and board member of ServeHaiti, which he helped establish in 2001. His daughter, Hannah Anderson ’13, also works with the organization. Made in 16 countries, EcoFiltro water filters reduce the incidence of waterborne ailments by more than 50 percent. Christine Keilhauer Wilson ’93 makes 2,500 EcoFiltro water filters each month at her organic-coffee farm in Guatemala. 

For information about donating to Dickinson's Haiti relief fund, call (717) 245-1577.

Photos by A. Pierce Bounds '71
Story by Bill Sulon