"Team Steven"- Benefit Concert and auction, Tikkun Olam project

My tikkun olam event was a benefit concert and auction to assist the family of my friend who had passed away from a rare brain cancer. I wanted to do this in order to help them pay their medical bills and stabilize their financial condition as well as to enable them to focus on their own emotional healing.  I was inspired to do this event by my deceased friend, while he was still alive. Very consistent with his personality, his greatest concern throughout his entire struggle was how his family and loved ones would cope if he were to pass.

His family, in particular, was always on the forefront of his mind, even while facing his own death. I initially planned the event as a fundraiser for his family but also as a means of lifting his spirits by showing him how many people cared about him, how many people he affected in his life, and how many people were rooting for him. Unfortunately, he passed away several weeks before the event. 

Putting this event together taught me quite a range of lessons, both practical and literal  -- some more general and others a bit more abstract. I learned a great deal about handling banking, creating websites, delegating tasks, long-term organization, planning and organizing an auction, communicating effectively with established adults in my community, and breaking down large tasks into achievable segments. On a broader and less tangible scale, I also learned about the gratification that results from stretching one dream or vision in every possible way. Throughout the process, I was constantly asking myself, and pursuing, each way to make every segment more entertaining, more efficient, more meaningful. The extra steps I took, such as framing seventy photos of my friend and decorating the room with reminders of him, made a large impact on the community. 

With the auction, I was consistently aggressive and never settled with the amount of items I had until we reached eighty, the stretch goal I had set for myself. Feeling the energy of the night and seeing the effect that the event held on so many in our community (and receiving plentiful thanks for producing it afterwards) really showed me how it was possible to move a group of hundreds and create something memorable and impactful for them. While this event was a one-time challenge, the website and fund on Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure is still open. I plan to utilize the lessons I learned in event planning and the motivation provided by the result of this event to produce larger scale benefit events in my future. 

I am considering entering the non-profit field and regardless, will be able to utilize the multitude of skills developed during this process in my chosen field of study to make effective impact upon the community.

Rachael Ferm- cohort 16