UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — After being inspired by a student's internship experience, a Penn State College of Education professor is using his musical talent to raise money for those in need.
Local band Group Therapy, which includes Professor of Rehabilitation and Human Services Jim Herbert, will headline a benefit concert on April 17 to support the citizens of South Sudan, an area rampant with poverty and famine as a result of a 22-year civil war.
Herbert said he was motivated to do something to help the people of South Sudan after reading the weekly internship logs of student Kalkidan Streit.
"Because of the important work that she and other members of her community were doing, I wanted to do something to honor that work and to share her message of caring for others — hence, the idea for a benefit concert," he said.
The concert will feature cover songs and original material, including a song titled "Fallen Stars" that Herbert wrote after reading Streit's logs.
"The song is about people who are called on to make this world a better place for those who have been discarded — the 'fallen stars' — and act on it, while many of us, myself included, tend to be more casual observers," Herbert said.
The concert will be held from 7:15 to 8:45 p.m. Monday, April 17, in Eisenhower Chapel and will feature an opening act by local musicians Ken Baxter, Molly Countermine and René Witzke. A $5 donation fee is requested, with all proceeds going to In Deed and Truth Ministries, the nonprofit for which Streit is interning.
For more information about Streit and her experiences interning in South Sudan, visit http://bit.ly/2owbW0z.