Fundraiser to benefit local women's shelter

Students will have the chance to win lunch with Chancellor Sharon Brehm, Dean Richard McKaig and a Norwegian supermodel tonight at a fundraiser for a local shelter, the Rise. \n"A Night on the RISE," tonight in Alumni Hall at the Indiana Memorial Union, will present entertainment at a charitable cost from 7 to 10 p.m., benefiting the Middle Way House affiliate, the Rise.\nThe Rise offers transitional housing for battered women and children, utilizing volunteers in order to implement daycare and tutoring programs for its young residents.\nThe event will feature Full Frontal Comedy, a concert by Laborious Clef, a silent auction (for a guitar, gift certificates, hundreds of dollars of cosmetics in a gift basket from L.S. Ayres, a full bar mirror from Kilroy's and more) and a live auction featuring "dates" with Chancellor Sharon Brehm, Dean Richard McKaig, business dean Dan Dalton, a Norwegian supermodel, 10 sorority women, track stars and possibly basketball star freshman Bracey Wright.\n"Where else can you go to hear a concert, listen to comedians, play casino games, win prizes and bid on awesome stuff and people all at the same time?" said Heather Blue, an IU student whose business class is co-sponsoring the event. "So in return for your $5 donation, you are not only helping out the kids, but you are getting an evening full of great entertainment."\nThe event was organized by the liberal arts management program class X333 and co-sponsored by the Union Board. \n"This semester, rather than just read and take tests, our class voted on actually getting out there and doing something that would provide us with experience we could not get in a textbook while helping a local organization," said junior Christina Sheets, another LAMP student.\nThe $5 tickets can be purchased at the LAMP office in Wylie Hall, the student activities desk in the IMU or at the door. Donations are also accepted.\n"The federal government is planning on cutting funding for such programs by 30 to 70 percent," said Jon Zarich, another member of X333. "Beyond their financial need, we also wanted to fund a program that would have an impact on kids. The Rise provides not only a secure environment for kids but also offers educational opportunities, via tutoring and other learning activities." \nThe LAMP students said they hope to raise up to $3,500.\n"Every penny from the event will go to the Rise -- earmarked specifically for the daycare center at Rise-Middle Way so that kids can get a better chance in life," X333 professor David Rubinstein said.\nSince organizing the fund-raiser, many of the involved students said they plan to become involved in the Rise.\n"We hope this event will urge many in the community to do the same," Zarich said.\nAlthough the kids that live at the Rise are not part of the actual event, "they've always been our guiding spirit," Rubinstein said. \n"In a world of worry, these LAMP students and Night on the RISE build hope," he said.