Live music, food, and arts and crafts were on display for all those who attended the third annual Battle of the Charities on Sunday, April 7 at the Library Lawn.
Battle of the Charities is an annual event hosted by the University’s Youth Activists club, in which local bands and charities come together to celebrate activism within the community.
This year, Blue Hawk Records collaborated with Youth Activists to create this year’s festivities. The organization raised a total of $922, which will be evenly between nine charities.
“Battle of the Charities is important to Monmouth University because it exposes students to good will and non-profit sector forms of business,” said Davina Matadin, a junior computer science student and President of the Youth Activists. “Having an event where charities & organizations can attend shows students first hand that we can make a difference for these organizations all while having fun.”
Artists that were in attendance included upcoming rapper Russo, alternative band Good Luck Brother, Shark Club, and reggae band Sunny Side Up.
Among the local bands performing at the event were Good Luck Brother, Sunny Side Up, Ella Ross, Shark Club, C.B. and the Mother Leeds Band, Kasper Park & MKM , Matt Russo, Max Adolf and Club 27.
The event, held on the lawn in front of the Murry & Leonie Guggenheim Memorial Library cost $5 per person to attend and pledged to donate all proceeds to various charities, including Team Mia Foundation, Daniela’s Wish, and My Haven.
Casey Gotta, a junior public relations student and Treasurer for the Youth Activists, said that the mission of the Battle of the Charities is to give back to the community while educating people on the different kinds of charities in the area and basing much of the event off group interest.
“Something important to know is that everything we do is environmentally conscious, so we nicknamed Battle of the Charities ‘eco-chella’ this year to portray our goal of creating a waste-free event,” Gotta said. “Decreasing the amount of waste an event generates does not decrease how fun it is.”
According to Aneri Shah, a junior business student and the Social Media Chair for the Youth Activists every item used at this year’s Battle of the Charities will be reusable, taking their environmentally-friendly policies from the previous event to the next level.
“We want members of our community to have a blast with fun activities and live music, but also shed light on plastic waste and show people a more sustainable living that is not only beneficial to the person, but the environment,” Shah said.
One such environment-based charity at the event was the American Littoral Society, an organization that promotes the study and conservation of marine life. Many of their activities involve going into lakes and on beaches to restore habitats, including laying down Christmas trees in breakwater sections of Point Pleasant to help raise the marsh levels and bring back different species.
“We like to go to a few different events in April to promote Earth Day and the environment,” said Nicole Haines, Education Director of the American Littoral Society. “We have a lot of volunteer opportunities available for college students.”
Another charity present at the event was the Mya Lin Terry Foundation, a non-profit organization providing assistance to families of pediatric cancer patients. Donations to the organization are tax deductible and can be made by mail or through the charity’s website.
“With the help of research, dedication and passion, we are able to ensure that we can keep each other alive.”
Eleanor Novek, Ph.D., a professor of journalism, said that the best way for students to get others involved is to get the word out about the good work that they do.
“College students make the best activists, because they care passionately about certain causes and have a lot of energy to put to good outcomes,” Novek said.
PHOTO COURTESY of Maya Paco
