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The School Newspaper of Harriton High School

The Harriton Banner

The School Newspaper of Harriton High School

The Harriton Banner

The Harriton Coffee House

On January 12th a tremendous earthquake hit the island nation of Haiti, affecting the capital of Port-au-Prince and much of the surrounding area.  Before the quake, Haiti was the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere.  The earthquake only exacerbated the problem; it decimated any structure present in the struggling country.  Buildings crumbled, trapping people underneath, killing over one hundred thousand individuals and wounding many more.  The aftermath of the disaster left essentially the entire population jobless and homeless.  Relief efforts were put immediately underway, but faced difficulties due to a near collapse of government.  Over a month later the situation is still grim, and there is a pressing need for monetary donations.
This is where Harriton Juniors Catherine Haslam and Helen Gaynor step in.  With the help of social studies teacher Dr. McKenna the students organized a highly successful fundraiser.  “We went to Dr. McKenna and asked him if he had any ideas for a fundraiser to support Haiti.  It was right after the earthquake and we felt it important to raise money and support through the school,” said Helen Gaynor.  “He mentioned that he had organized ‘coffee houses’ in the past, and we thought it was a great idea.”
The “Harriton Coffee House” was held on the evening of January 17 in the black box theatre.  Tables full of refreshments such as cookies and donuts were set up along the walls, as well as, of course, plenty of coffee.  Folding chairs and tables lined the floor, and the back of the theatre hosted a small stage equipped with microphones and amps.  Students stepped on stage to play an instrument or sing a song for their peers, who paid a $5 admission fee to sit in the audience.  Additional donations were also encouraged, and a large jar slowly filled with the visitors’ spare change.
The event went over very well, but there was a large amount of planning that had to be done first.  Catherine Haslam explained “We had to get permission from the school, organize for people to perform, set a date (which, due to the snow, had to be rescheduled) and organize for people to bring in food.”  Students paid for and supplied comestibles themselves so that all of the money could go directly to charity.  Catherine commented, “All proceeds will be donated directly to the Red Cross for Haiti Relief effort, as Helen and I decided it was the most valid and trustworthy organization to give our profits to.”  Mary Attaliadis, Sofie Seymour, Molly Rothschild, Drew Ackerman, Ali Herman, and Harriton buildOn also put in a lot of time helping make the window display, posters, and other decorations for the event.
Musical guests also had to be scheduled and arranged.  Helen Gaynor explained the process: “We started a Facebook event and invited anyone who was interested to perform.  We wanted to try and give everyone an opportunity to perform.  Also, Jared Matt was able to book Eric Bazilian of The Hooters to perform at the end of the night which was really cool.”
The audience and performers seemed to really enjoy the event.  Sophomore Rebecca Jacobs called it “a magical experience for a great cause.” Freshman Vanessa Sundra, who played guitar and sang at the event, shared the same sentiment, “I thought it was really awesome. I [ am] really new to the live performance thing, I’m more of a studio recorder, but it was great, and everyone was really supportive.”  Sophomore Wilson Smith, who played some modern songs on his cello, commented, “I’d never done it before but it was pretty great. It was really relaxed and fun to play.”
At the end of the night the reviews were good, and a large amount of money had been donated to a worthy cause.  Sophomore Cass Dudek exclaimed: “We have a lot of talented people at Harriton.  I didn’t know that!”  Ultimately the words of the very entertaining special guest Eric Bazilian summed up the experience: “You’ve got some righteous stuff going on here, and I applaud you for that.”

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