Hanna's Gig - April 2009

The Hanna’s Orphanage Fundraising gig was a big success – we had a great turn out, the music was fantastic, the venue was lovely and the raffle prizes were fancy (Ipod Shuffle, anybody? Cakes? A Month's membership at David Lloyd gym? Boot Camp? Lots of lovely cakes? Who could ask for more!). Thanks so much to everyone who came along, and especially those who donated or bought raffle tickets. I’m not certain how much we’ve raised yet – it’s being counted – but we’d made around £350 on the raffle alone when a rough count was done during the evening.



This is our 6th gig (or thereabouts – it may have been 5?) and I have definitely come to the conclusion that the gigs are much better when I’m not involved in organising them. As touched upon before, I am a rubbish hostess, and organising a gig (which is essentially a large party!) is not my forte at all. Luckily, I have the fabulous Maria who organises them all!

They probably take place around 2 or 3 times a year, and so many people support us for free: from the Abbey Bar who let us use their venue, to the sound guys who come and work for us, to the companies and individuals who give raffle prizes. And of course, then there are the friends who are regularly bullied into selling raffle tickets and brandishing collection buckets.

Interestingly, our fundraising gigs would never have started if it weren't for the internet. Nearly all of the music acts we have playing for us were discovered on the internet (myspace etc.) and guests are still mostly invited via myspace and facebook. So a clear case of the social networking sites being used for something fabulous!



As soon as I know how much we made, I will update you. All the money raised will go towards paying the rent for some of the children’s houses in Ethiopia, particularly the Prisoners’ Children’s Homes’ (see Sunday 3rd August 2008 blog post) in Jimma, Harar and Hosanna.

For more pictures and videos from the gig, please go to www.myspace.com/hannasorphanage, and if you want details of the next gig, please email me or Maria at maria@blueskyonline.co.uk