Voices of Hope Full Story

The voices of hope sing-a-thon was created by the Women's Chorale to benefit the Angel Foundation. Several members of Women's had been affected by cancer. Because they had this in common, they wanted to make a difference. They came with the idea of this fundraiser. Teachers, Students and people from both community and the Twin Cities sang at the event. They raised money by ticket and food sales and by each performer or performers donating a small amount.

It started with a group from Apple Valley, who donated a portion to the charity and continued with a group from FRMS. Teachers and students from EVHS language department followed FRMS and then both the Men's and Women’s Chorale. There was aslo two graduates of eastview who performed throughout the day. One of them was Ms. Twin Cities and the other was a broadway perfomer. Music was a passion in both of their lives, and this event allowed them to show their passion for music and talant to make a difference, for people affected by cancer.

The Voices of Hope fundraiser was created by students so that they could make a difference, because cancer had affected them. These students were members of Women's Chorale, and they came up with the idea of students using their talents to help a cause. This is what made this charity different than the other eastview charities, it affected a lot of people and a lot of people could make a difference. When asked why this charity was different than other eastview charities, Concert Choir member Kelsey Reger said "It gave students and opportunity to use their own talents to create change." A lot of students participated in this event, even if cancer had not affected them, Kelsey said "It was a simple way to contribute the small amount of money I have to a good cause."

The Voices of Hope event raised money through Ticket Sales, Participant Fees, Food and Concessions. All of this benefited the Angel Foundation, which is a 2001 Minnesota-based charitable organization. This organization was chosen because Ms Sagen had heard about it, and liked that it was different than other organizations. By different, it gives financial aid to the families affected by cancer, instead of using the money for research. The financial aid includes money for rent, mortgage, groceries, and phone bills. Their goal is to improve the quaility of life througout the cancer experience.

This event was one of Eastview's biggest events, with as many participants as it had. Cancer has affected a lot of students at eastview but also this event people not affected by cancer a chance to participate. There are other events such as "The relay for Life" but not everyone can participate or contribute in the same way as they could in the Voices of Hope sing-a-thon. The Voices of Hope event was local, and gave everyone at the school a chance to contribute by showing their talents. The Fundraiser ended up raising over $15,000 to benefit the Angel Foundation.