Acoustic Coffee House concert to raise funds to help children with physical disabilities

“You break down the wall before me.” According to fourth-year ethnomusicology student Yuki Akaishi, these biblically inspired lines from her song titled “Children of Light” can also be applied to the struggles that physically disabled children face every day, and how they can be overcome.

Tonight, the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity and the Office of Residential Life will host the fourth annual Acoustic Coffee House, a benefit show aimed at helping children with physical disabilities and educating students about the issues they face.

The Covel Grand Horizon Room will be transformed into a lounge with free coffee, and although the event is free, attendees are encouraged to make donations. Proceeds will be sent to Push America, a nonprofit organization that aids children with physical disabilities.

The event will feature performances by student bands and musicians, including Akaishi, as well as presentations by student groups such as Best Buddies and UCLA Special Olympics.

Akaishi, who also performed at last year’s Acoustic Coffee House, said Push America is an especially worthy beneficiary because the organization works to make public facilities more accessible to people with physical disabilities.

“I know friends who have physical disabilities, and I have temporarily been disabled in the past. I know how easy it is to overlook people who don’t have access to things we take for granted every day,” Akaishi said.

To increase the spirit of philanthropy for the event, musicians were required to volunteer at a hospital or at the Special Olympics in order to perform at the show.

Jenni Fiederer, a third-year psychobiology student, and Sharry Lu, a fourth-year women’s studies student, volunteered at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica. The pair, who will perform at the event as the alternative-folk-pop duo Jenni & Sharry, played music for hospital patients.

Fiederer and Lu said they view the volunteer experience as eye-opening because they did not expect their music to be received so warmly by the patients. The pair formed their band four months ago and said they have not had many opportunities to play for a live audience.

“(The patients) were so happy, and some of them even had tears in their eyes for some of the performances. They seemed like they were just so overwhelmed by (the music),” Lu said. “It was really meaningful to them, so it was really meaningful to us.”

The event is also a competition between the performers for two main prizes. The Judge’s Choice prize is free recording time at 4th Street Recording’s studio in Santa Monica. The People’s Choice prize is $250 and will go to the act that raises the most money through donations on their behalf.

“They’re really great prizes for independent artists and for people who have an opportunity to perform. It gives them the opportunity to record their music or to have the funds to support their music,” Akaishi said.

Akaishi said she knows many of the students who will perform at the event but is not intimidated by the competition. She also said she knows that these students are talented and that she is happy to be able to celebrate the success of her peers.

Fiederer said that although she is new to performing, competing is not her biggest concern for the event.

“It’s intimidating because it’s a big show, but I think we’re all fun people. We’re just trying to have fun, and this has a good cause,” Fiederer said. “We just want our music to be heard.”