A group of New Covenant School students want to create awareness about the Blue Ridge Pregnancy Center, through music.
Six students have been working to plan a benefit concert for the anti-abortion, Christian ministry that provides services and support to area pregnant women.
“How can we not do something to support it? It’s right in our backyard,” said sophomore Fiona Leitch, who has been one of the organizing forces behind the event.
The concert, set for Saturday, costs $5 and will be held at Grace Church at 21129 Timberlake Road. All proceeds will benefit the center. Doors open at 5 p.m. and the festivities start at 6 p.m.
The dedicated group of young women corralled several bands into playing at the concert. The event will include performances by Tim Be Told, The Kase Project and the Lynchburg-based Six Chasing Seven.
Leitch and her classmates said the concert has been months in the making. It all came about during Christmas break over coffee as the group discussed the center and issues facing women.
Senior Lindsay Shaughnessy said it’s important to create awareness about the center and what services it provides. She said she has friends who are pregnant or have children.
“Knowing them, seeing their experiences. I know a place like Blue Ridge Pregnancy Center is necessary,” Shaughnessy said.
The concert, she said, will be a comfortable opportunity to explain what the center is all about.
Blue Ridge Pregnancy Center executive director Lori Meetre said it’s exciting to see young people get involved and she’s thrilled about Saturday’s concert.
“We see a lot of teenagers and college kids. I think it’s powerful they want to get involved that way,” Meetre said. “They have worked so hard for this event.”
Meetre said the center provides various services including pregnancy tests, life skills classes and post-abortion counseling. She plans to have a display at the concert to show what the center is about.
“What we do is education. We want to educate our clients that come in,” she said, later adding, “We want the youth and everyone to know what is available to them and in their community in case they were to come across a crisis in their life.”
The concert, now a mere day away, is a reality that’s sinking in for its teenage planners.
“It’s been the scariest past five months of my life,” Leitch said, adding her faith helped her cope with all the work and planning.
Her classmates agreed. Ashleigh Bartell and sisters Gabrielle and Abigail Simmons, who also helped to bring the concert to fruition, said the stress of putting together the event was worth it.
Another organizer, junior Laura Sharrett put it best.
“It’s crazy because we’re just a bunch of teenage girls,” Sharrett said.
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