On the evening of September 20, a concert will take place at Kulp Auditorium to support the Advocacy Center. Unlike most performances at Kulp, though, this concert is being planned and organized by students. IHS students Daniel Copeland ‘21 and Leah Wardlaw ‘20 have been working over the past few months in coordination with ACTion (Advocacy Center Teens), the Advocacy Center’s teenage activist group, to put a wide range of performers together on the Kulp stage.
The Advocacy Center is a local nonprofit organization. Its mission, as stated on actompkins.org, is to “increase the safety and reduce the trauma for those who have been impacted by domestic violence, sexual assault, rape, and child sexual abuse.” According to Wardlaw, one of the chief goals of the upcoming concert will be to promote awareness of the Advocacy Center and its services. Those involved in organizing the concert hope that it will help promote understanding among teenagers of free and confidential services that may be relevant to them. The variety of such services is wide; they include help with legal issues, assistance with the creation of safety plans, counseling, and support groups. Additionally, teenagers (and all others) are encouraged to call the Advocacy Center’s 24-hour hotline at (607) 277-5000.
Both Copeland and Wardlaw are confident that the concert will have a positive impact on the Ithaca community. As inspiration, they reference Take Back The Night, an annual set of marches and rallies across the country organized around the theme of domestic and sexual violence prevention. The annual Ithaca rally, which features spoken word poetry and other forms of art, is organized by a “collective” of community members, some of whom are students. In September, ACTion will be bringing similar artistic talent and themes to the familiar and accessible setting of Kulp to focus on how teenagers are affected by sexual violence. According to Wardlaw, “[The concert] is about lifting up the voices of teens, and this event will literally and figuratively lift up their voices about issues that matter.” Additionally, Copeland stressed that the concert is a way to get the community more involved in abuse prevention, stating, “We want the world to be a safer place and the community to be a safer place, and this is a good way to get the word out about these issues.” Wardlaw also noted that the concert will be beneficial to the community in that it will help ACTion to grow, as funds raised by the concert will provide the group with the resources necessary to purchase items that are not typically covered by grants, such as stickers and wristbands.
The two also made the point that, in planning this concert, they are effectively reinforcing ACTion’s goals of support and empowerment. Copeland and Wardlaw, with support from Advocacy Center staff, have led efforts to find performers, secure sponsors, and create promotional materials. Essentially, they have been empowered to support other teens, which is the ultimate goal of ACTion as a group; as Wardlaw states, “Everyone can have the space to empower others and to be empowered.” Planning this event has led Copeland and Wardlaw to think of future ways in which ACTion can benefit the community. For example, they hope to create toolkits with resources for various awareness months (such as Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October) that would be made available to ICSD and Tompkins County students.
Acts in the show will be performed by various students from throughout Tompkins County. Some of the acts will deal with themes relating to the mission of the Advocacy Center, while others will simply strive to provoke thought and to entertain. While admission to the concert will be free, there will be a suggested donation of $10 at the door. Proceeds will go directly towards awareness promotion, youth services, and youth programs.