Kelley Hungerford -assistant editor. It began three years ago as a high school fundraising project, but the third annual “Notes of Hope” concert landed Linfield sophomore Jacob Nolte on the front page of the Nov. 7, 2009, issue of The Oregonian.
When Nolte was a high school senior in 2007, donations collected from the concert totaled $13,000. And, after a slight disappointment of only raising close to $5,000 last year, Nolte said he was happy that the concert donations have increased so far this year to nearly $8,000.
“This year was kind of going to be the determining year,” Nolte said. “I was pleased, and I think it’s a good motivation to keep it going.”
The concert, which took place Nov. 15, was for the benefit of the Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology program at Oregon Health and Science University’s Knight Cancer Institute. Approximately 250 to 300 people attended. The concert was held at OHSU.
Initially, Nolte organized the concert for a high school senior project that involved completing 100 hours of service work. He said he was brainstorming ideas about organizing some sort of benefit concert when a personal loss sparked the concept for the AYA fundraiser.
A close family friend, Bethany Anne Hartung, was diagnosed with a blood cancer called lymphoblastic leukemia when she 19 years old.
Hartung was an advocate for the OHSU program and spoke with some of the university’s public relations experts about Nolte’s idea. Then, when Hartung, the first concert five months away, was 21, she died.
“She was the first person who I’d seen that was my age who had passed away,” Nolte said, adding that her death was a reality check for him.
Not long after, he received an unexpected call from an OHSU public relations worker.
“That was even before I was certain about what I wanted to do,” he said. But after her call, his mind was made up. “I thought it was kind of a final decision.”
In choosing to benefit the AYA program, Nolte said he was both honoring his friend and continuing her advocacy efforts.
Nolte begins preparing about a year in advance for the following year’s concert. He books a venue, writes press releases and responds to a vast amount of e-mails.
According to the AYA Web site, the organization “provides support for the unique emotional, physical and social needs of cancer patients between the ages of 15 and 40.”
“There’s just not a lot of awareness for that age group when it comes to cancer,” Nolte said, explaining that most donations go to infants or older people.
This year, the event was marked by a few changes.
“Unlike in years past, I only had one musician perform,” he said.
That was performer Michael Allen Harrison, whom Nolte said plays at many benefits and charity events. Nolte, who also plays piano himself, said Harrison had two more shows to perform that night after the “Notes of Hope” fundraiser.
Also, three cancer survivors spoke at the concert. In the past, Nolte said there has only been a speaker from the cancer foundation.
“It was good to hear from them because you could connect to their personal stories,” he said.
Overall, Nolte said working on the event is a fun and gratifying way to continue Hartung’s advocacy for AYA. He said he hopes to continue the concert fundraiser in the future.
“I think the turnout from people and donations reinforced that it’s a worthy cause and something that needs to be kept going,” he said.