Hope for Haiti fundraiser set for Saturday
Published: November 6, 2009
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Sean Manley
A local Iraq war veteran is once again doing his part to help the less fortunate in Haiti - as well as those right here in our own backyard.
On Saturday, West Scranton resident Sean Manley will host his third Hope for Haiti benefit concert at South Scranton's Twentieth Ward Social Club, 2028 Pittston Ave.
Starting at 7 p.m. and continuing until midnight, the event will feature performances by popular local bands Destination West and Grace's Downfall. Tickets are $20, and all proceeds will go to St. Damien's Children's Hospital, where Mr. Manley spent much of his time during a week-long mission trip to Haiti in July 2007.
Currently a senior at Marywood University, where he's majoring in history and minoring in religion, Mr. Manley raised just under $3,000 at the first concert, and over $5,000 last year. This year, he's hoping to take in at least $3,500, which would put the concert's three-year total over the $10,000 mark.
Meanwhile, Mr. Manley is broadening his mission to include area underprivileged kids. So, in addition to monetary donations, he's asking those attending the concert to donate one new, unwrapped toy. The toys will be given to local children through United Neighborhood Centers, he said.
"I figured it'd be a good idea, with the way the economy is and everything," Mr. Manley said. "A lot of kids come from needy families as it is. It's going to be tough for them this year."
Shortly after returning from Iraq in the summer of 2005, Mr. Manley, who served with the 1st Cavalry Division of the Army's 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment - also known as Charlie Company - decided to go on a service trip to Haiti with a family friend.
During his week at St. Damien's, which is just outside the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, he washed diapers and bed sheets, fed newborns, assisted sick kids in the hospital classroom and delivered medical supplies and provided screenings to people in the surrounding towns.
Mr. Manley returned from the trip with an intense need to do even more for the cause. Not long after, he started Hope for Haiti.
"I didn't expect the depth of (the poverty). It went far beyond what I thought it would look like," he told The Times-Tribune in a 2008 story. "I thought to myself, 'How could I go through my life and not help people like this?'"
Contact the writer: jmcauliffe@timesshamrock.com If you go
What: Third annual Hope for Haiti benefit concert, featuring performances by Destination West and Grace's Downfall
Where: Twentieth Ward Social Club, 2028 Pittston Ave.
When: Saturday, 7 p.m. to midnight
Details: Tickets are $20 and will be available at the door. Concert organizer Sean Manley also is asking attendees to bring one new, unwrapped toy.
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