Abigail
Professor
English 1110
1 March 2015
2015 Star Spangled Banner Songfest Have you or a loved one served our county and are in need of help? The University of Toledo welcomes you to join the “Star Spangled Banner” songfest event held on March 28th at the Savage Arena at 5pm. Songfest is a grand philanthropic tradition that can be described as a song and dance performance. This year, proceeds raised from the event will go toward the Wounded Warrior Project, an organization whose mission is to honor and empower Wounded Warriors. The Wounded Warrior Project has helped thousands of family and service members with medical, housing, along with numerous other types of support. This year’s event is split into three different competitions: Men’s Women’s, and Co-ed groups, which are composed of many Greek, Academic, Religious, and other UT organizations. The University of Toledo takes much pride in these events, raising awareness and donations toward a worthy cause. Current sponsors of Songfest include Blue Key National Honor Fraternity and Mortar Board National Honor Society, both of which hold their recognition and tapping ceremonies during the event. Each organization participating in Songfest was challenged to come up with a fundraising goal to go above and beyond what they raised last year supporting children diagnosed with terminal cancer, which was a grand total of $25,000. According to Joy T. Bennett’s journal article Stepping Up, Joy deliberates the importance of fundraising in sororities and fraternities toward their philanthropy, providing money to improve the lives of many people and ensuring that non-profit organizations are still able to exist. She states, “Life is a gist, and it offers us privilege, opportunity, and responsibility to give something back by becoming more.” After interviewing Taylor, a member of Alpha Omicron Pi, she indicated that all money raised by her sorority during the event will be given directly to the Wounded Warrior Project as a whole. She stated, “Songfest is so much fun! It’s a competition where sororities, fraternities, and other University of Toledo organizations compete in categories of song and dance using props, costumes, and overall creativity that all come together to raise toward one purpose. Our chapter’s goal is to raise $500, more than last year.” Songfest, the University of Toledo’s second oldest standing tradition, began in the spring of 1937 with a group of six fraternities singing old college songs on the lawn behind University Hall. Women began their own singing competition in 1940, which consisted of sororities and one independent group performing choral arrangements. Songfest has continued to expand since its commencement in 1937 with more groups participating, award ceremonies being held, and extravagant performances any audience will enjoy. Alyssa, a member of Kappa Delta has participated in songfest for the past 3 years. She stated, “This year, it is very important for our sorority to provide help by giving our support to the Wounded Warrior Project and to the veterans and their families in need. We use songfest to rely a positive message to our community on the importance of giving back and supporting our troops.” With the help of this year’s songfest, the Wounded Warrior Project will provide assistance to multiple severely injured active duty members. According to JRRD in his article Wounded Warrior Perspectives: Helping others to heal. JRRD voices a story on two veterans that were losing hope until the help from the Wounded Warrior Project. These veterans paid a very high price after serving in the Vietnam War and suffering a major limb loss. During JRRD’s interview with one of the veterans in his article he asked, “What are the biggest challenges faced by the wounded service members recovering from a major limb loss?” The veteran replied, “The mental aspect. Am I going to get kicked out of the Army? How am I going to support my family? These are questions that are not answered right away, so you worry about them.” In JRRD’s article, he states that the Wounded Warrior Project helps veterans benefit from continual advances in triage, treatment rehabilitation, and the use of prosthetic device technologies, which are used in military hospitals by skilled medical doctors to give veterans every opportunity for success. The money raised by songfest will give more than 10 veterans the ability and chance they need to break through their hardships and reach for a better life. Among all of the participants, the University of Toledo’s directors of songfest anticipate that this year’s performance held by the students will be the largest thus far, bringing together more people than ever before. Nichole, a leader of the Tri Delta sorority mentioned during an interview before the event, “We thought it would be good to get our campus and community involved in this idea, as a Greek community that has done amazing things for charities all over the world.” She expressed her compassion by sharing that they will also be accompanied by a guest speaker, who lost her son in Afghanistan and the role the Wounded Warrior Project played in her life. This year, a table outside of the event will be set up for anyone in the community to send a letter to any given location at no cost, whether it’s a loved one who is stationed overseas or someone you would simply like to give your thanks. The students participating also reached out to local veterans to invite them to attend and in addition, the ROTC and Pershing Rifle Team will also be involved in the performance. Nichole spoke, “I’m proud to be a part of something that means so much to our community and our troops.” Although songfest conveys an important message that affects individuals emotionally, the tradition puts a twist on the purpose by keeping the show fun and upbeat, playing loud flashy music and decorating the stage with vibrant signs, lights and streamers. “There is no better way to reach out to our community than to relay our message with a positive, cheerful attitude” Kappa Delta member, Alyssa stated. In addition to the funds raised by the performance, concessions and a variety of souvenirs will be provided with all proceeds being donated to the project. Each organization has been working very hard this semester, practicing 4-5 hours a day to prepare a winning number that will inspire an audience to give back to our veterans. “Songfest’s road to success has not been easy and there is still a lot of work to do before we achieve our goals,” Ally, a member of Alpha Omicron Pi stated. She recently posted a tweet on the social network site that said, “How many mental breakdowns can one have preparing the week of songfest? The limit does not exist.” The event will be held on March 28th at the Savage Arena at 5pm. Doors open at 3pm. For directions or more information, contact the University of Toledo’s campus directory at 419-530-8700. This year’s event started as nothing more than an idea but after much planning, intense practice and finalizing details, the performance will be one to not miss.