Good Friends, Good Music, Great Cause
Posted February 12 2012 by heather | Filed under: Organization updates.
Some thoughts on the Boston Molasses Benefit Concert by Opportunity Africa’s Adviser to the Board, Michelle Wilson:
Reflecting on the benefit concert as a fundraiser, it was a huge success. We raised $1000 thanks to the three awesome local rock bands who drew a full house at the Precinct in Boston! The crowd was pumped, and so were we…. as this money will help us transition to the next phase of Opportunity Africa.
Reflecting on the evening from my own personal perspective, I am also filled with gratitude. I enjoyed seeing several familiar faces who came out to support the cause, and even ran into an old friend of mine from middle school! I was especially grateful for the chance to reconnect with Andre and Adele over dinner (aka Hot Molasses band member Andrew Cohen and Opportunity Africa President Heather Buesseler). The three of us first met in 2001 during our semester in Cameroon, and had a deep connection through our shared study abroad experiences in West Africa and our common interests and values. Although our lives have taken many unexpected twists and turns since our college days, it feels good to know we still connect around our sense of adventure and shared values. Opportunity Africa has been a special way to give back to the country that taught us so much about ourselves and the world. As my husband and I sat across the dinner table from Andre and Adele, I had a flashback of the day we were dipping bread into a shared bottle of Nutella in Eastern Cameroon… and another time I tried to make a henna tattoo of an ostrich on Andre’s arm…. it didn’t turn out so well (and neither did my bright red henna-dyed hair that was supposed to wash out but stuck around for the next year). Now here we are, all grown up and mature. Well, sort of…. Andre still rocks out on the guitar like no one’s business, I still don’t like beer, and Adele….well, she’s pretty grown up but she did order lobster-mac-n-cheese, which looked awesome!
Here’s to many more moments of fun and purpose!
Michelle Wilson
Opportunity Africa Adviser to the Board
Sporting the new Opportunity Africa t-shirts at the benefit concert - Advisors to the Board, Michelle Wilson (left) and Nate Folan (right), with President, Heather Buesseler (center)
