Peddie Music Event Supports Pediatric Cancer Charity

Ice House, a venue for Peddie students to share their musical talents, was held May 11, raising money for the Make Some Noise foundation for the second year in a row.

Make Some Noise was founded by Malcolm Sutherland-Foggio, the younger brother to Peddie Alumni Harry Sutherland-Foggio ‘11. Malcolm is a survivor of Pelvic Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare form a cancer. He was diagnosed at age 11 and has fought through 14 chemotherapy sessions, 16 blood transfusions, and a surgery to remove his hip. Malcolm is still fighting strong and is currently in remission.

Make Some Noise was started on September 24, 2009, after the death of a 3-year-old boy named Michael. He realized how little knowledge the public had about this type of cancer and wanted to change that. The goal of Make Some Noise is to raise awareness for pediatric cancer because it is a top killer of young children.

The foundation has four other chapters that have recently been incorporated in Colorado, Washington, New York, and Massachusetts. It was also one of the finalists for the Best New Charity in 2010 and has helped with the funding for pediatric cancer research by giving over $10,000 since it started.

Throughout the Ice House performances, a large bucket was passed around for donations to the Make Some Noise charity. Malcolm said that, “this year’s donation count from Ice House was about $310 and last year it was about $800 so there was a noticeable decline in donations. But, with that said, there seemed to be much less kids in attendance, which could have lead to the decline. Hopefully, if we are chosen next year we can get that number back up. Also, kids shouldn't feel bad about the smaller number because ”

Crystal Campbell ‘16 agreed that there was a problem with the amount of students donating money, and she suggested that, “They could start collecting donations at lunch so that people don’t forget as easily. They could also maybe send more reminders about the donations and the charity itself before the show.”

Students love that Ice House and Make Some Noise are working hand in hand, for they get to enjoy music and help change lives all in one night. “It’s really nice to see people raising money to help with charities at Ice House,” said Ice House performer Kat Drake ‘16. “Using an event like this where a lot of people gather is a great way to help with fundraisers and help get students involve and build awareness.”

Although the Make Some Noise foundation has had numerous accomplishments, they will continue to spread awareness. Malcolm spoke about other fundraisers that Make Some Noise has recently done. “It's been a little of a slow year, but we hit the first million dollars raised on Feb. 2 at our annual gala. Besides the gala we also have different campaigns like the 1,000 schools campaign and Swimmers Go Gold that help to bring in more revenue from grass roots events.”

Malcolm also hopes to continue to work closely with Peddie, “Another first time event we had this year was our Heroes 5K walk/run. We will be having it every October from here on out and it would be great if Peddie could get a team together for it in October or better yet for Peddie to host its own walk/run for Make Some Noise. They have been helping to raise money for the home base in NJ and hopefully will be able to spread the word and raise more money for kid’s cancer research.”

-This article was submitted by Peddie student Caroline Wenzel