Ithaca College Wind Ensemble plays benefit for Advocacy Center.
By Kerry Barger ’11

The staff of the Advocacy Center of Ithaca, New York, met the month of October — with mixed feelings. Facing national awareness month for domestic and sexual abuse, the center was gearing up to promote its services, programs, and events.

As a nonprofit organization, however, it also faced a potential $100,000 in cuts. The center, which relies on support from the community and its funders, was confronted with how to raise money to protect its core services.

“It’s a very important time of year at the center in terms of what we can do for people,” says education director Heather Campbell. “October is incredibly powerful because we can really put a human face to domestic and sexual abuse.”

 In order to battle the effects from a cut in funds, the center reached out for help. On October 9, the Ithaca College School of Music hosted a benefit concert at the State Theatre to raise money and recognition for the Advocacy Center.

“This is the first time that we’ve had this kind of collaboration with the College,” says Campbell. “Having these students help out really brings a lot of energy and freshness to the fund-raising.”

The concert featured music from the College’s wind ensemble and trumpet soloist Frank Campos, professor of music performance. The program also gave Ithaca composer and music school lecturer Sally Lamb McCune the opportunity to premiere her original piece, Revocare, which means “to reclaim” in Latin.

“I didn’t want to focus on the tragic aspect of domestic and sexual abuse, but rather the reclaiming of one’s self,” says McCune. “The piece is about envisioning one’s capabilities and taking stock in faith and hope throughout recovery.”

McCune says that she was happy to write a piece for the concert and pleased that the College was able to assist the Advocacy Center in raising funds for its core services.

“We wanted to do something that was less typical than having a dinner or any other kind of fund-raising event,” says McCune. “This concert was a really creative way to raise funds. We have so many resources at the College to put on an event like this, and it really was a win-win situation.”