Simpson Residence will host a talent show in Phillips Auditorium at 6:00 tomorrow night. Proceeds will help build a well for orphans in Sangaalo, Uganda.
“It’s an opportunity for primarily freshmen, really anyone on campus, to come out and show their talents,” said junior Andy Reuss, an RA in Simpson who is organizing the event.
For $3, spectators will see between 25 and 30 acts that will be about three minutes long. One judge will be Assistant Professor of English Patricia Bart. The other two still have yet to be determined.
There will also be a “penny wars” component, which will determine a people’s choice award.
The money will go to an organization called Visiting Orphans, an organization senior Daniel Bellet, another RA, has raised money for in the past.
Bellet said the organization was working with an orphanage in Sangaalo, a small village in Uganda, when members discovered a special need.
“There’s a well within the village that they’re trying to build,” Bellet said. “And if it gets completed then it will be able to get water to the orphanage and to the whole village at a very low price.”
Bellet said their goal is to raise $1000, which will be enough to finish the well, but that they would love to raise more if possible, and would give the rest to Visiting Orphans for other projects. He said he was drawn to the organization because of their emphasis on helping team members grow closer to God as they help others.
Reuss said each dorm is required to host a number of events every semester, and dorms are encouraged to use some of their events to raise money for philanthropy.
Simpson is offering slots in the show to every Greek house and to every hall in dorms that have freshmen.
“We opened it up to freshmen primarily because we don’t know what their talents are,” Reuss said. “More than likely we’ll find a lot of really really bad humor, but hopefully we’ll find something worthwhile.”
