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Band bash raises funds for the House
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Updated: February 14, 2013 3:40PM
“There’s a fire starting in my heart…”
As her bandmate strummed a guitar, Kristi Grunditz of Northbrook, a Northbrook Junior High School student, took the mic to sing, covering a song from pop artist Adele.
“Rockin’ for the House,” a free concert featuring five Northbrook rock bands (7 Cents, Seagrass, Ska-lars, Last Resort and the Mickey Dee’s) included original and cover music, plus a raffle which drew Northbrook neighbors and families from the North Shore. It took place at the Alley in Highwood, a bowling-alley-cum-performance-stage on Dec. 9. The sounds of toppling pins mixed with youth rock band music.
The Junior Board of Northbrook, formed in 2004 by a group of Northbrook boys, provides hands-on aid, such as monthly meals, as well as financial assistance to Ronald McDonald House at the University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital.
A $5,000 check was presented in late January.
“The message is,” said Ann Cariola of Northbrook, one of the parent organizers assisting the boys, “that we want our young boys to realize the value of service.” Cariola’s son Drew is a drummer and volunteer.
“They (the boys) do such a great job at bringing meals to the House and, you know, this (“Rockin’ for the House”) is just a really fun way to generate money to donate to such a worthy cause,” she added.
The JBN provides 15 meals a year to Ronald McDonald House. On Sunday, Feb. 17, they’ll serve heart shaped brownies and cookies (in the spirit of Valentine’s Day) plus turkey tetrazzini.
“I think for young people, that it’s so easy to get wrapped up in yourself,” said Cariola, “and I think it’s a way, in our case, for junior high and high school boys to realize that there’s something beyond themselves and (that) other people really need their service.”
