KASF Fights San Luis Valley Hunger with Harmony

Courtesy Photo: Late Nite Reading. Drew Cottrell, Dalton Wixom, Clayton Collins, Rita Mays, Brady Szuhaj.

Toni Steffens-Steward
The Paw Print

The Adams State College radio station KASF presented music, food and fun at the Harmony for the Hungry benefit concert held on April 28.
Admission to the concert was a small monetary donation or a canned good. The station collected 71.6 pounds of food for the San Luis Valley Food Bank and $80 in cash. The station also collected food at their 80’s Hip Hop at Hooper Pool Party, which took their donation up to 132.61 pounds. Rita Mays the general manager at KASF said that they decided to host the benefit to help the food bank because they saw a need in the community. Mays said, “I feel that each KASF manager has their own personal feelings about the food bank and the La Puente Network as a whole, and collectively we felt that doing a food drive would be the best way to give back and help.”
The managers agreed that the concert was a success and Mays said that they brought “notice to the cause and the issue of hunger here in the Valley and we raised both money and food which will help the food bank.” They are planning to hold a similar event next year and they were very impressed with the bands that came to the Valley and “really cared about the cause.” They were happy with the turnout and felt that the concert was successful in getting the stations name out to the community and to help rebuild their image.  The station has worked to rebuild their image through the year and they have worked to organize the concert for 3 or 4 months. They sent out invitations, recruited sponsors and set up the location and food for the event.
Mays said that the outpouring of support from students and the community surprised her. The managers were also surprised to learn about the actual amount of need in the community served by the food bank. Members of Late Nite Reading, a band from Indiana, even took time out during their visit to go to the food bank and learn more about the cause they were supporting.
Late Nite Reading was the headlining band at the concert also featuring Megan Perez, DC and The Blue Sky Band. The event was sponsored by many local organizations including GAB (Grizzly Activity Board), ALMA (Alamosa Live Music Association, SLVRMC (San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center), Dominos Pizza, ASC Facilities, AttiTooDs Salon and the Ramada Inn. Mays said that she especially thanks “all of our KASF and GAB members for lending their personal time and weekend to the event.” She said that, “Without such a wonderful team, and such a giving community behind us I don’t know how we could have pulled it off!”
KASF is a nonprofit station that is completely student run. Mays said, “we do what we do because we are passionate about the cause and want to make a difference in our community.”