“That’s when Rock Uganda was born,” she said.
St. Barnabas embraces HUG concert
Rock Uganda, the biggest undertaking of the HUG Club, is a series of concerts featuring more than 30 bands. Ninety cents of every dollar earned from these concerts benefited
the Sir Samuel Baker Secondary School in Uganda.
After promoting the show via MySpace, passing out flyers in local high schools, middle schools and colleges and advertising in various area newspapers, the HUG Club held their first Rock Uganda Concert Dec. 9, 2006.
More than 300 people showed up, raising $3,426. “I was incredibly surprised by the turnout,” she said. “I had no idea we could make that much money. I was entirely blown
away.”
Schuck took the success of the first concert as a sign to keep on going. “It just reaffirmed our confidence that we could change the world,” she said. “We had to do more.”
What began as a onetime event turned into a concert series, she said. “The amount of people who ended up being involved is insane to me. We invited everyone to be a part of us — we had no restrictions. We joined together and connected over a common goal.”
Nursing peace and justice
Eleven concerts and $30,000 later, Schuck was honored for her efforts. In April Schuck was presented with the Prudential Spirit of the Community Award, which recognized her as the top high-schoolaged volunteer in Delaware. She won a $1,000 scholarship and an
all-expense-paid trip to Washington D.C. to meet other top volunteers from across the country.
“I got to meet amazing people who all do incredible things,” she said.
Now, as she prepares to graduate this month, Schuck will leave the club in the hands of the underclassmen. “I know they’ll come up with some amazing ideas of their own [to raise money for international causes],” she said.
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The goodbye concert will be held June 21. She anticipates more than 400 people will attend. “It’s going to be really sad, but it’s definitely time.
It will probably be our biggest one because this time, there’s no next time,” she said.
Although there’s some sorrow in closing this chapter of her life, Schuck is excited for all that lies ahead of her. In the fall she will attend the University of Scranton, where she will major in nursing and minor in peace and justice.
After college, she plans to join the Peace Corps. “I want to put my degree to work for the sake of helping others.”
The Dialog is the weekly newspaper of the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington in Delaware.