Tag: events

Celebrity Performer to Honor the Talents and Achievements of Roca Youth and Raise Funds to Move Young People out of Violence

Chelsea, MA -On December 3, 2010 Roca will host its Third Annual Benefit Concert. This year, Roca honors the musical talents of Roca participants and raises the awareness of youth violence.  Local and well known artists such as Jerry Rivera, a Latin Grammy Award winner; will perform to over 400 people with Jam’n 94.5 FM’s very own Ramiro Torres who will be hosting the event beginning at 7:00pm. Roca’s Benefit Concert and VIP event combines excellent music and a call to action to support the young people we lose to the streets and poverty.

Roca’s VIP Reception and Concert will be sponsored by TD Bank and TD Insurance and the program will be centered on redemption this year. Redemption is in all aspects of our work, from helping our young people address the hard issues in their lives to engaging community partners in difficult discussions. This event will help raise Roca’s visibility as we continue to ask ourselves and the world what we can do differently to stop losing so many young people to violence and poverty. We ask that you help Roca and learn more about the organization by attending Roca’s Benefit Concert.

“Our community has had to deal with terrible violence in the past year- violent deaths of and by people who are way too young. No one should lose their life to violence, but when it is a young person, it is particularly hard for a community to cope with,” said founder and CEO Molly Baldwin. “But after the tears, the prayers, the speeches, and the calls for a renewed push to end the violence, we are left with the question – “What do we do?” We must learn each day how to make choices and do the things we need to do to bring peace to our lives, our families and communities, this is what we hope to bring to the concert this year” she added. Roca, nationally known for its success moving high-risk young people out of violence and poverty, has proven that with the right intervention, behavior can change.

Roca’s Annual Benefit Concerts have served as an effective way of advancing the important work of Roca, promoting our mission to over 40,000 people through media exposure and outreach. Roca has had the privilege of hosting a number of celebrity artists including platinum-selling musicians Milly Quezada, Julio Voltio, El Jeffrey, Xtreme, and an array of acts from Latin, Pop, HIP HOP, to rock.

This concert is designed to be an evening that will pair excellent music with a call to action to give young people living in violence and poverty a second chance. Currently, Roca works rigorously with 705 young people each year and provides less intensive services to an additional 250 youth.  These young people are in gangs, living on the streets, in and out of prison, have dropped out of school or are about to do so.  Many Roca participants are parents, some as young as 12 years old, while others have several children.  In its 23-year history, Roca has helped more than 20,000 young people change their lives. For more information about Roca and the concert please log onto www.rocainc.org or contact Angie Rodriguez at angie_rodriguez@rocainc.com (617) 889-5210 ext.258