Members of the Saint Mary's community were treated last to select songs from two different artists with personal connections to Saint Mary's and Notre Dame on Thursday.
Trent Romens, whose sister, Taylor Romens, is a senior at the College, and Pat McKillen, a graduate of Notre Dame, were welcomed to Saint Mary's campus for a benefit concert held by the Saint Mary's Dance Marathon.
Amy Tiberi, president of Dance Marathon, thought the benefit concert got the message the committee was trying to get across to the community.
"The concert went well. We had a good turnout and I think that everyone who came to see the show really enjoyed both of the performers," Tiberi said. "Trent and Pat both tailored their sets to our audience which was really awesome."
Tiberi said the committee was hoping for more people to be at the show, but they were by no means disappointed with the crowd.
"You always hope for the best in terms of turnout," she said. "Trent and Pat were both
awesome. Both have an acoustic style and they were a great way to relax on a Thursday evening for friends. It was great entertainment overall."
Kate Kellogg, vice president of finance for Dance Marathon, said the event was a success.
"All of our proceeds went directly to Riley Children's Hospital and we raised about $200, not including any donations we received from the texting campaign," Kellogg said. "We hope to continue with other texting campaigns in the future at other Dance Marathon events."
Kellogg said it was a great way to spread the word about the Dance Marathon and to continue to raise awareness on campus and throughout the community.
"This is the first time we've done a concert in the fall and it was a fun way to kick off our pre-registration for the marathon which is on March 23," she said. "We have had 126 students registered thus far. Moving forward, we have upcoming giveback nights at local restaurants such as Between the Buns and Chipotle later this semester."
Tiberi said the committee is thinking "Rock Out for Riley" will continue to be an annual event for Dance Marathon as it grows in the future.
"We have a Riley Family Dinner in the Noble Family Dining Hall coming up on Nov. 30," she said. "Right now, our biggest focus is building more awareness for what Dance Marathon is and recruiting dancers for our event in March. We have a lot of momentum building right now and we are just trying to carry it to next semester so we can keep the ball rolling. It's really exciting to see all the potential this year has for us."
Tiberi, Kellogg and the rest of the Dance Marathon committee will be holding a texting campaign during Riley Week in February and again on the day of the marathon, March 23. More information will be available as the dates get closer.
Contact Jillian Barwick at
jbarwi01@saintmarys.edu
