As most of you know we had a BIG day this last week. Back in October Erika dreamed of putting on a benefit concert. Last Thursday her dream came true. She has been working on this project for 4 months and it turned out really well. She first decided that she wanted to have the money go to the Bailey Twins. Emma and Taylor are 3 yr.old conjoined twins. They share one heart and one liver so eventually they are going to need surgery to separate them. Erika had met them and their family at a fundraiser last February and she fell in love with them.
Next she had to find a place to have the concert. She checked into renting a church but the costs were HUGE so that was out. She asked Mesa High and they said that she could have it for $800.00. It was a lot of money but at least we had a place. A few days later they got a hold of her and told her that they were going to DONATE the use of the auditoriu
m and everything that went with it!!! What a MIRACLE!
Step number 3 was to find performers. She knew that she wanted Linsey and Tyler Maxson so she asked them and they said YES! We were just joking around one day and said how great it would be if we could get someone like the Duttons to come. We told her Aunt Emily about this dream and she said that she knew someone who knew someone and pretty soon we had the Duttons on board!!!! I don't remember how she got the groups Witness and Urban Quartet and Shelice Millett but we were so excited to have such a great line up!
Erika started to have planning meetings in November. She would have everyone meet at her Grandpa's office and they would start talking about what it would take to put on this HUGE of a service project. A very valuable person she persuaded to be on her committee was her Aunt Emily. Emily lives in the Bailey's ward and so she was always in contact with Mandy Bailey and Emily had worked on other fund raising projects for them. The first couple of meetings were a little disappointing in that not many people showed. As time went by she recruited more and more people and on the night of the concert I believe that she had right around 50 volunteers from Mesa High, Westwood, Poston, and friends. She had students and adults.
Part of getting ready for the concert was fundraising to help pay for supplies and fliers. The first fundraiser was at Chick-fil-a. We had so much support that night. They raised $150.00! The next one was at Jamba Juice. We had a few problems on that one but still managed to get $50.00. In January we had an afternoon at Bounce-U. The last one was the day of the concert and that one was at Nielsen's Frozen Custard. We were able to raise enough money to get all of the supplies we needed and had some left over. Also Erika had decided to do a silent auction and a raffle at the concert so she and some of her committee started collecting donations. We had some awesome stuff....gym memberships, haircuts, an estate planning session with a lawyer, zoo memberships, photography sessions and many others. Businesses are so kind and generous.
Emily set up a pay-pal account on the computer so we started selling tickets online. Ticket sales went kind of slow but we had people donating money. My mom was very diligent in telling everyone she knew and helped to sell quite a few tickets and get many donations. We picked a busy night but I do not think that there is ever a night that is not busy.
The day of the concert started out with Erika having to take a math test at 7:00 a.m. After the test she was excused from school all day by the administration. The Dutton's showed up at 8:00 a.m. and started to set up all of their equipment. They were there almost all day and they were so helpful to the rest of the groups. Erika came home around 2:00 to get ready and she was just beaming because she was seeing her DREAM come TRUE and everything was working out. She had TONS of help from people at Mesa High during the day. Emily was there all day with her coaching her and helping wherever she was needed. I showed up at 4:00 with pizza to feed all of the volunteers. I could not believe my eyes! There were tables everywhere with signs and balloons. Inside the auditorium were all kinds of people setting up and running sound checks. This was a huge event. I left to come home and get ready. I also need to mentio here that I have the BEST visiting teacher ever! Hayley came over and watched all of my younger kids so I would not have to worry about them during the concert and she even brought dinner! Thanks Hayley!!!! When I got back there even more tables were set up and Erika was running around like crazy making sure that everyone had what they needed. Linsey and Tyler came and we did our sound check. The Dutton's let me play their keyboard! I had to stand up and I have never stood up to play for someone so that was a new experience.
When the concert started we had a pretty good sized crowd!!! We were so nervous that we would not have very many people but they came and we think we had 400-450 people! So Witness was first and they were up there for about 25 minutes. Linsey and Tyler and I were next. They sang The Prayer, Linsey sang Vanilla Ice Cream, Tyler sang Coming Out of My Shell, and then they ended with Stud and a Babe. The audience loved them! Shelice sang her "Mom" song next and then act 1 ended with Urban Quartet. During intermission I had so many people stop me and tell me how much they were enjoying the concert and they could not believe that a 16 year old girl put all of this together! I also had many people stop and tell me how much they love Erika and what an example she is to everyone. My heart was very full that night. I was introduced as "Erika's Mom" and I loved it! (A funny side note of the night was I had some of my sisters-in-law come up and tell me that they had no idea that I played the piano like that! I think it is funny because I have been in this family for a LONG time and I have played the piano for a LONG time!) Act 2 - THE DUTTON'S!!!! A lot of people have never heard of the Duttons and they wondered why I got so excited whenever I talked about them??? They are the most talented family ever! They put on an amazing show. They all play all kinds of string instruments and they all dance and sing. They even had their kids in the show. Their part of the show was about 40 minutes and the audience LOVED them! I wish that they would have had more time. It was an AMAZING night and I am so glad that everything went so smoothly. I will forever grateful to Mesa High and all of the many many people that helped and made it such a success! Everyone keeps asking Erika if she will do it again? She just says give me some time and then we will see! To everyone that came THANK YOU! FYI... we think that the total money raised is right around $5000.00! We hope that those little girls can get the medical help they need! We love you Bailey Family!
Step number 3 was to find performers. She knew that she wanted Linsey and Tyler Maxson so she asked them and they said YES! We were just joking around one day and said how great it would be if we could get someone like the Duttons to come. We told her Aunt Emily about this dream and she said that she knew someone who knew someone and pretty soon we had the Duttons on board!!!! I don't remember how she got the groups Witness and Urban Quartet and Shelice Millett but we were so excited to have such a great line up!
Erika started to have planning meetings in November. She would have everyone meet at her Grandpa's office and they would start talking about what it would take to put on this HUGE of a service project. A very valuable person she persuaded to be on her committee was her Aunt Emily. Emily lives in the Bailey's ward and so she was always in contact with Mandy Bailey and Emily had worked on other fund raising projects for them. The first couple of meetings were a little disappointing in that not many people showed. As time went by she recruited more and more people and on the night of the concert I believe that she had right around 50 volunteers from Mesa High, Westwood, Poston, and friends. She had students and adults.
Part of getting ready for the concert was fundraising to help pay for supplies and fliers. The first fundraiser was at Chick-fil-a. We had so much support that night. They raised $150.00! The next one was at Jamba Juice. We had a few problems on that one but still managed to get $50.00. In January we had an afternoon at Bounce-U. The last one was the day of the concert and that one was at Nielsen's Frozen Custard. We were able to raise enough money to get all of the supplies we needed and had some left over. Also Erika had decided to do a silent auction and a raffle at the concert so she and some of her committee started collecting donations. We had some awesome stuff....gym memberships, haircuts, an estate planning session with a lawyer, zoo memberships, photography sessions and many others. Businesses are so kind and generous.
Emily set up a pay-pal account on the computer so we started selling tickets online. Ticket sales went kind of slow but we had people donating money. My mom was very diligent in telling everyone she knew and helped to sell quite a few tickets and get many donations. We picked a busy night but I do not think that there is ever a night that is not busy.
The day of the concert started out with Erika having to take a math test at 7:00 a.m. After the test she was excused from school all day by the administration. The Dutton's showed up at 8:00 a.m. and started to set up all of their equipment. They were there almost all day and they were so helpful to the rest of the groups. Erika came home around 2:00 to get ready and she was just beaming because she was seeing her DREAM come TRUE and everything was working out. She had TONS of help from people at Mesa High during the day. Emily was there all day with her coaching her and helping wherever she was needed. I showed up at 4:00 with pizza to feed all of the volunteers. I could not believe my eyes! There were tables everywhere with signs and balloons. Inside the auditorium were all kinds of people setting up and running sound checks. This was a huge event. I left to come home and get ready. I also need to mentio here that I have the BEST visiting teacher ever! Hayley came over and watched all of my younger kids so I would not have to worry about them during the concert and she even brought dinner! Thanks Hayley!!!! When I got back there even more tables were set up and Erika was running around like crazy making sure that everyone had what they needed. Linsey and Tyler came and we did our sound check. The Dutton's let me play their keyboard! I had to stand up and I have never stood up to play for someone so that was a new experience.
When the concert started we had a pretty good sized crowd!!! We were so nervous that we would not have very many people but they came and we think we had 400-450 people! So Witness was first and they were up there for about 25 minutes. Linsey and Tyler and I were next. They sang The Prayer, Linsey sang Vanilla Ice Cream, Tyler sang Coming Out of My Shell, and then they ended with Stud and a Babe. The audience loved them! Shelice sang her "Mom" song next and then act 1 ended with Urban Quartet. During intermission I had so many people stop me and tell me how much they were enjoying the concert and they could not believe that a 16 year old girl put all of this together! I also had many people stop and tell me how much they love Erika and what an example she is to everyone. My heart was very full that night. I was introduced as "Erika's Mom" and I loved it! (A funny side note of the night was I had some of my sisters-in-law come up and tell me that they had no idea that I played the piano like that! I think it is funny because I have been in this family for a LONG time and I have played the piano for a LONG time!) Act 2 - THE DUTTON'S!!!! A lot of people have never heard of the Duttons and they wondered why I got so excited whenever I talked about them??? They are the most talented family ever! They put on an amazing show. They all play all kinds of string instruments and they all dance and sing. They even had their kids in the show. Their part of the show was about 40 minutes and the audience LOVED them! I wish that they would have had more time. It was an AMAZING night and I am so glad that everything went so smoothly. I will forever grateful to Mesa High and all of the many many people that helped and made it such a success! Everyone keeps asking Erika if she will do it again? She just says give me some time and then we will see! To everyone that came THANK YOU! FYI... we think that the total money raised is right around $5000.00! We hope that those little girls can get the medical help they need! We love you Bailey Family!
The awesome banner that some MHS volunteers made!
Emma & Taylor:the celebrities of the night :)
Aunt Laurel & I :)
Dr. McGettigan, me, and Ms. Bertolet....
The "Duttons that matter" and I :) From left to right: Amy, Benjamin, Timothy, & Johnathan.
I love these guys! Me with Amy & Ben :) (He found this cord and figured out that it fit around his head. Thus the inspiration for this picture was born. :P)
My friends and I (Jenna, Richard, & Kristin). They go to WW and I go to MHS, but we're still close :)
The girls and I :) They're actually not as heavy or hard to hold as I thought they would be :)
The whole Bailey family and I :)
Ben, John, and I :) They are SO COOL!
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9 comments:
That is night was amazing. Erika is amazing as well as Erika's mom. Everyone around us was saying I can't believe she was standing and playing the piano like that. I am so happy that everything worked out well and that she was able to raise that much money. You have all earned some time off.
This concert was so great! Totally could have charged more for the tickets though. My girls and I had so much fun! It is amazing that Erika put everything together. It must have been super stressful to manage school and this event. She is so awesome! I knew that you played the piano...but had NO idea that you were THAT good- You totally rocked it! So glad that we were able to be there. Great Job ladies! Totally should do it again. Easy for me to say, right? :)
Sounds like a huge success - so proud of Erika and her gracious, charitable heart that she put into action. What a kid!
WOW - that's a huge endeavor!!! So glad it went well - sorry we didn't make it!
Oh my gosh, I love all of the details in your long story and all of those pictures! And I LOVED the concert!!! Way to go Erica, you are officially one of my heroes now!! I love you guys. :)
It was an awesome concert! I've only heard you play. You are always in the pit under the stage! You and Erika did awesome!
Wish I could have come--I was getting ready to see my parents, but I'm so glad it was such a success. You are so lucky to have a daughter like that. And she has an amazing mom (who can play the piano--who knew?)
I am so glad that it turned out so well. You guys are amazing!
What an awesome experience for Erika to have at her age! We're proud of you!
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