yes i know.. i have been gone for quite awhile. let me explain.
remember that event i blogged about?
and it went so unbelievably well.
and i spent the entire last week recuperating from my exhaustion of months of planning.
but i'm back and ready to blog.
i'm so happy that my locks of love benefit concert went so well. i love event planning, but at the same time i hate it. and planning events on the college level are so much more stressful because of paperwork. so fun. i must say it was grand having to jump through so many hoops to get everything done. but hey, it all worked out in the end. it always tends to doesn't it?
i had 16 acts performing at the concert. they were all wonderful! it's great having so many friends with pretty voices. while the acts were performing, there were also hair dressers there to cut hair for those that were willing to donate 10 inches of their hair to locks of love. and then there were a lot of facts about cancer spread out at the event and refreshments. the point of the event was to raise cancer awareness but in a way that wasn't asking for money. you see, we just poor college students that want to help.
the theme of the event was the american cancer society's theme: imagine a world with more birthdays. so we had birthday cake and balloons. the different balloon colors represented the different types of cancer. (ie: pink-breast cancer, black-melanoma skin cancer, white-lung cancer, dark blue-colon cancer, etc) during the entire week before the event we had a table set up where people could decorate luminaries in honor of someone they know that is fighting cancer, beat cancer, or passed away from cancer. we had all the luminaries set up at the event. i also gave a little cancer speech half way through. and basically my main point was just that i hope if anything, people left the event with a willingness to help others.
alright so for the exciting stuff... the months, weeks, and days leading up to the event i was super nervous about how many people would come, if it would be successful, if anyone would donate their hair, etc. about a week before the event only 6 people had signed up to donate their hair... yikes. my goal was 30 people... and i was desperate just to have 10 people sign up. well, i am unbelievably proud and excited to report that 45 people donated their hair that night. yup.. that's right... 45! (ahhhhhhhh!) i was just a little thrilled.
so many people were inspired last minute to donate their hair. there were even a few families that came where grandmothers, mothers, and daughters all donated their hair. it was so awesome to see one mom donate 26 inches of her hair. and it was quite the tender moment when i saw this one girl i met donate her hair and her husband held her hand as she did. her husband who is currently battling cancer and going through chemotherapy.
overall i feel so blessed. i hope this event motivated someone to help. just one and i'll feel satisfied with how it went. cancer is a disease that is so close to my heart. and something that effects so many of us. thank you. thank you to those 45 people that donated their hair, the hair stylists, the performers, the locks of love foundation for their easy cooperation and encouragement to put on this event, byuhsa service, and the amazing volunteers. i could not have done it without the help of some great friends. thank you.
here are a few pictures from the event, but i'll post more later.
looks like i can cross host a cancer research event off of my bucket list :)
