Making Music for Stewpot As a child, volunteering at Stewpot was not work for me; it was a learning experience that would last a lifetime. I began to volunteer regularly when I was in middle school. It was then that I discovered my admiration for Stewpot and what it does for the community. Now that I am older and am able to, I like to give back to the organization that taught me so much by hosting my own event to benefit the organization. This was the second year I hosted a concert at Hal and Mals where 90 percent of proceeds would benefit stewpot; the other ten percent was given to workers at the restaurant. This event took place on January BLANK. I did not have any misconceptions or misgivings before performing my service; I have worked with this organization for years. Putting this whole event together was a very big challenge for me. I not only had to put this event together, I had to promote as well as perform at the event. I had to find people willing to do services such as: graphic designer, sound engineering, other performers etc. I not only had to find the people, but I had to find people that would be willing to do it at a very low price. The other performers even performed for free and did not require money. Putting an event together like this at such a young age is quite challenging as well. It is very hard to get club owners, news stations, etc. to take me seriously when I try to put an event on like this. There were a few favorite moments or experiences I had that were memorable. Of course the best thing after all of the hard work and time that was put into the event was the satisfaction of actually handing the money to the workers at Stewpot. It was very nice to see the money being handed over and knowing that all of it was donated by others to an event that I personally hosted. Of course the joy and satisfaction I get from playing music is always a favorable experience. I knew that I was up there and not making a paycheck for playing, but I was doing something I enjoyed to benefit others. I learned the meaning of a community. I learned that no matter how bad the economy is or no matter how “poor” college students claim to be, they can still gather up five dollars to give to someone else. This was the second year I was able to look amongst the crowd and get that feeling and pride for the small community of Jackson knowing that they all helped out people that were less fortunate than others. An insight I learned about myself, is that hard work does not always need to be awarded with materialistic things, but it can be awarded with just a simple smile of a Stewpot worker. It is nice to put a lot of effort and time into something and know that you are helping out