NEW ORLEANS, LA. (WGNO)
Tulane University students organizing benefit concert for Ebola relief efforts
Tulane University School of Medicine students are raising money for research and relief efforts to fight the deadly Ebola outbreak in West Africa with a benefit concert scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24, at the New Orleans House of Blues.
Tickets for ‘SeLebrating Sierra Leone,’ which will feature food, raffles, a silent auction, an open bar and entertainment by local cover band Imaginary Frenz, are $35 in advance and $40 at the door; student tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door.
All proceeds will directly support Tulane`s relief and research work at the Kenema Government Hospital in Sierra Leone, which is at the center of the epidemic. So far, more than 3,000 people have died in the outbreak, the worst on record.
‘This fundraiser is very near and dear to the Tulane community where faculty and staff are bracing the frontlines,’ said doctoral student and co-organizer Donna Edwards. ‘We want to support our professors in their courageous efforts as well as help spread awareness to New Orleans community at large about how they can help with relief efforts.’
The biggest need is for personal protective suits. Hospital workers caring for patients need two suits per day at a cost of $10 each. There are 50 workers on site at the hospital. ‘One ticket at the door will provide funding to protect two doctors for one day,’ Edwards said.
Supporters can also directly donate online here: http://www.gofundme.com/SeLebratingSierraLeone
For the last decade, Tulane researchers have worked with staff in the facility on efforts to stem Lassa virus, another hemorrhagic fever. When the Ebola outbreak began earlier this year, the team shifted gears to help. They`ve lost eight of their African research colleagues in the outbreak.
The benefit is co-organized by medical student Courtney Garry, whose father Robert Garry, a Tulane microbiology and immunology professor, leads Tulane`s research efforts at Kenema.