Hawk TV hosted Rock ‘n Relief to raise awareness about Habitat for Humanity which involved various bands, singers and other attractions this past Friday.
Hawk TVnot only hosted the event but created it too. They were accompanied by Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA),WMCX, Alpha Sigma Tau and the Music Alliance.
Katie Meyer, station manager ofHawk TV, took charge of the event as executive producer, while Andrew Bern, program director ofHawk TV, was the associate producer and assistant director. Meyer said, “To prep for Rock ‘n Relief,Hawk TVspent a month acquiring artists, contacting people for interviews and gearing up for three hours of music and raising money for Union Beach.”
Rock n’ Relief took place in front of Jules L. Plangere Center for Communication. The event featured several student artists, such as Joey Affatato, Guy Battaglia, Joe Sullivan, Bryan Haring, Bri Merriman and Natalie Zeller. They performed a free show on a stage placed on the lawn in front of the academic building.
Donna Dolphin, co-advisor of Hawk TV, said that the musicians were great. “We needed them to be flexible and they were,” she said. “We had to adjust set lengths on the spot, that’s just how it goes in live broadcasting. They were so cooperative and are all so talented. It took a great deal of stress off of the production.”
There were also tables giving away food or different association products and were accepting donations rather than charging students. PRSSA provided baked goods while Hawk TV featured hot dogs and a prize wheel.
Kelly Brockett, senior and Co-President of PRSSA, explained that PRSSA did more than just organize a bake sale. “[PRSSA] developed flyers about where an attendee could donate online if they wanted to donate a larger amount,” she said. “PRSSA also tried to get the crowd involved in the social media conversation about the event by creating the hashtag #RockNRelief and displaying [Habitat for Humanity’s] existing hashtags and handles. PRSSA also live tweeted from the event to help create awareness and spread the word about Habitat for Humanity.”
Hawk TV filmed the event and broadcasted it live throughout campus on channel 12.
Nick Sommons, production manager of WMCX, broadcasted the whole event live and also created a promo for it. Even though Nicole Calascibetta, senior general manager of WMCX, was unable to attend the event she said that she is proud of Hawk TV for putting Rock n’ Relief together. “Rock n’ Relief was Hawk TV’s idea from the very beginning and I think they did an excellent job executing their vision,” she said.
Meyer explained that Union Beach is still suffering from Hurricane Sandy. She said “Union Beach still has 500 families without homes. [The] University is sponsoring a [Habitat for Humanity] build there in October. Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife will be there to raise awareness …”
Bern said, “[Rock n’ Relief] served as a unifying experience for all involved and I am hopeful we can ride this momentum for the rest of the semester.”
Dolphin referred to Meyer and Bern as “consummate professionals.” “They absolutely killed it,” she said.
“I think [Rock n’ Relief] went extremely well. I was thrilled with the turn out and the amount of money raised…” said Meyer.
Four hundred dollars was collected in cash but Dolphin said that because donations were encouraged to be made online as well, there really is no set number as to how much was raised.
Brockett said, “I think Hawk TV took the reins on this one and did an excellent job organizing and broadcasting such a unique event that both raised awareness about Habitat for Humanity as well as advertised what amazing talent we have within the [University] campus.”
PHOTO TAKEN by Tara Egenton
PHOTO TAKEN fromwww.nj.com
