Miami Beach Senior High's Benefit Concert

Have you ever been in situation in a group in which you had an ingenious idea, but you couldn’t find your voice or kept having your voice smothered by others? As one UNICEF student leader among the almost 800 clubs around the country, I know how difficult it can be to easily share successful events and ideas with other clubs. By highlighting an outstanding UNICEF Club and the details of a successful event that they have undertaken and have learned from, this interview blog is meant to be your voice! This monthly blog will feature different clubs from across the nation, and will hopefully not only encourage you with by being connected to thousands of like-minded individuals through your passion for UNICEF, but will inspire UNICEF Clubs like yours to share their story. Happy reading!

This month, our feature is all about Miami Beach Senior High, from Miami Beach, Florida and their wildly successful benefit concert. Music, food trucks, henna, and more were enjoyed by all at this fundraiser! Read on to discover how they pulled off this fantastic event.  

Basic Club Questions

Q: How many members are a part of your club?

Approximately 75 active members this school year.

Q: What year was your club was founded?

2016
 

Q: What is the structure of your leadership team and if it was different previously, what changes have you implemented to cultivate a stronger team?

The leadership team was made up of a Board including a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Communications Chair, and Events Chair. This upcoming school year, 2018-2019, the Board has decided to elect two Presidents to ensure the success of the club and promote a stronger team.

Q: How frequent are your club meetings?
Club meetings are held at least once a month. Our officer meetings are held at least twice a month.

Event Questions

Q: Who/what inspired this event?

Music for Memories is a local Miami-Dade charitable organization formed in 2009 by a 10 year old son (Ben Dietch) and his mom to collect and refurbish gently used and new instruments to donate to Miami-Dade County schools and community centers in need. To date, more than 200 instruments have been donated to over twenty schools. Some of the bands featured at the benefit concert have been the recipients of these instruments.

UNICEF MBSH has partnered with Music for Memories to raise money and spread awareness for UNICEF as well as ensure the event goes smoothly and successfully! Although UNICEF helps others out globally, we wanted to start locally!

Q: What organizations and/or other clubs did you partner with?
For our annual Music for Memories for UNICEF Benefit Concert, UNICEF MBSH partners with the charitable organization Music for Memories.

Q: How long has this event existed?

Since this benefit concert was created in 2017, we have had a total of 2 annual benefit concerts.

Q: When did the planning for this fundraiser begin?
Planning for this years benefit concert began in January 2018.
 

Q: How much money was spent on producing the event?
This event was done without cost as everything was donated by individuals, organizations, and businesses for the event.
 

Q: What are some resources that were used to produce the event?
Many of our resources were donated by our community as multiple local businesses donated items and funded the event. Moreover, certain resources given on the UNICEF page, such as the UNICEF Clubs Events Guide, were useful to plan the event and to use as a checklist.

Q: What kind of entertainment, food, drinks, etc. was provided at the event?
Entertainment at this fundraiser included performances by bands in which Music for Memories donated instruments to and a raffle held by UNICEF MBSH. Since the date of our event falls on the same day as the weekly food truck night, food and drinks were provided by food trucks at the location of our event.

Q: If you had any food and drinks at your event, did you get it donated? Do you have any advice in doing so or great places to recommend reaching out to?

The city allows for food trucks to sell food at the location on the date of our event and local businesses offer to sell goods at the event. Getting local businesses to sell goods at an event is a great way to publicize themselves as well as aid in making the event successful. Send letters, emails, and go to local businesses in person to get them to be a part of the event for a good cause!

Q: How many people attended the event? Did this number match your initial estimates?

There were over 200 attendees at the event and exceeded our initial estimate of 100 attendees!

Q: How many people participated in planning this event?
About 10 individuals planned and coordinated this event.

Q: What were a few highlights of the event?
There were performances by our very own MBSH Rock Ensemble, YMU Rock Ensemble (Jose de Diego Middle School), YMU Jazz Ensemble (Young Men’s Preparatory Academy), and Charles Drew Elementary Dance Team. UNICEF MBSH held a raffle at the event. There was also a henna tattoo station for the attendees of the event.

Q: What were some challenges that your club had to overcome and how did you solve them?
Some challenges that we encountered in planning the event is the need for branching out to be able to find donors and sponsors. To solve the problem, we made it mandatory for seniors in the club to find at least one donor, which made it much easier to find the items that were then raffled off. Another problem was how to promote the event to have as many people attend the event as possible. The way we encountered it was to contact local political figures to promote the event as well as posting fliers throughout our school to ensure that our attendance was at its maximum.

Q: What advice do you have for other clubs that would like to host a successful event like yours?
Be very organized when planning and executing the plan! Do not leave everything for the last minute as it will show in your work/event. If your club is planning on doing a big event with sponsors, performances, and a venue, make sure to email and talk to them at least three months in advance so that they can plan accordingly and see if they can help. Promote the event up to 5 months prior to the event to ensure that the word spreads and the turnout is big. Be patient and professional when dealing with potential sponsors/clients because the way you treat them reflects on your club and school! If your club ever has any questions regarding hosting big events, please email us!

Q: Who would you like to thank for helping to facilitate this event?
We would like to thank the City of Miami Beach, Doctor Aromas, Grand Beach Hotel, Fort Partners: The Surf Club, Miami Beach Family & Sports Chiropractic Center, The Rhythm Foundation, Young Musicians Unite, and Dana Kulvin & Mayor Daniel Dietch.

A big thank you goes to UNICEF Miami Beach Senior High for being so passionate about UNICEF’s cause, and being so willing to share the details behind their fantastic benefit concert! We hope that this interview blog will help you and your club plan your next event. Contact them at unicefmbsh@gmail.com.

Thanks for reading!- Alice