The crowd burst out laughing as the performers of Mee-Ow finished off their sketch as part of the Northwestern University American Red Cross’ “Malaria No More” Benefit Concert in McCormick Auditorium on Thursday.
The Red Cross held the concert from 7-8 p.m. in association with other student organizations such as Mee-Ow, Comedy Forum, Brown Sugar and ReFresh Dance Crew.
“Last year we had a benefit concert after Japan was hit by the earthquake and tsunami,” said Weinberg junior Michael Hernandez, the co-president of the NU Red Cross. “We had a successful turnout, and we decided to hold annual events.”
About 25 people attended the concert, which Hernandez said he considered to be successful, especially considering the stormy weather.
“It was a nice, cozy event,” Weinberg senior William Qiao said. “These events always go better than expected.”
The Red Cross constantly reaches out to both the community within and outside of NU, said SESP junior Caitlin Ahearn, the co-philanthropy chair.
“We also do other events,” Ahearn said. “It’s meant to be informative and fundraising for the initiatives of the Red Cross.”
Weinberg senior and co-philanthropy chair Lizi Jones said the event’s main objectives were to get student groups together and to spread more information about the organization.
“People won’t come out without the events,” Hernandez said. “We hope that the events will get people to think more about the issues that we try to address.”
Qiao, who has been involved with the Red Cross since the end of his freshman year, said he believes the organization informs students about world issues.
“The events definitely spread awareness,” Qiao said. “I wasn’t aware of the malaria problem before. I found out more about it tonight and also donated money. Even though there weren’t a lot of people, it’s better than leaving people to not know about a problem.”
