(UW-Whitewater submission)—The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Department of Music and members of the Whitewater Dream Scholars and Colleagues (DSC) are planning to raise funds for the Whitewater Dream Fund this year in a virtual event. This will feature faculty and student vocal performances highlighting Latin American composers, performances by members of the Whitewater community, and speakers, testimonials, and visual art contributions from the Dream Scholar students. This virtual benefit fundraiser will take place on Friday, October 16, 2020 and will be streamed on the Department of Music’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8A-StNOqOKwsiHR7RV6-uw beginning at 7:30 p.m. Viewers can send donations by mail to: Whitewater Dream Fund, c/o Community of Christ the Servant Church, Box 322, Whitewater, WI 53190.
Spearheading this event are faculty members Robert Gehrenbeck, Annie Stinson, and Rachel Wood; UW-Whitewater Dream Scholars and Colleagues president Nayeli Govantes Alcantar; and sound engineer Michael Inloes. This is the first time the fundraising event is being held virtually. The importance of this event is shared in the testimonials below.
From Dr. Anne Stinson (Faculty Advisor to DSC and President of the Board of Directors of the Whitewater Dream Fund) “For 12 years, the Whitewater Dream Fund has helped undocumented UW-Whitewater students who reside in Wisconsin and who have graduated from Wisconsin high schools to cover the non-resident portion of their tuition. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, our traditional fundraisers cannot take place. This virtual benefit concert is more important than ever.”
“It is thanks to the efforts, passion, and dedication of Dream Scholars and Colleagues and the Whitewater Dream Fund scholarship that I was able to complete my studies at the University and to graduate as the first in my family to earn a degree. My BSE allows me to get started in the career I have always dreamed of doing.” – from a Dreamer, Daniela Porras Serna.
The Whitewater Dream Fund is a private, non-competitive scholarship for undocumented students that pays up to 100 percent of the tuition inequity faced by these individuals beginning in the second semester of the freshman year. Please join this virtual fundraiser on Friday, October 16, 2020 at 7:30 pm and make a donation toward scholarships for these deserving Dreamers.
