I read with interest last week’s column and editorial about Concert for the Cure. While I appreciate the discussion, you’ve raised additional questions necessary to address.

Your editorial noted that Concert for the Cure is Gamma-driven. Both the on-campus committee and the separate 501(c)(3) Concert for the Cure Foundation are open to anyone who wishes to participate! If you have an idea for a fundraiser, would like to apply for a Board position, or would like to staff one of our booths, please join us. Whether as an individual or another organization (Greek or non-Greek), we would love to have you! Concert for the Cure has certainly been established and driven by Gammas; however, we are not an exclusive group. Please get involved.

Additionally, thank you Esteban, for asking what portion of ticket sales contributes to the philanthropic cause. The Concert for the Cure committee works year-round to secure corporate sponsorships to offset all event costs. With the additional help of some fundraisers in the fall, all expenses are covered before the time tickets go on sale to the public. You can be confident that your money goes straight to our annual donation to Camp Discovery.  We will try to better communicate this.

The editorial also opined that while Concert for the Cure is a philanthropic event, it is also social. Over $14,000 was raised through ticket sales at Cowboys Dancehall on January 26. This directly contributed to our total annual donation of $20,000 to Camp Discovery. It would be naà¯ve to think that all event attendees come purely to support us. Many come for the music, to dance, and yes, many come just to socialize.  However, every single attendee donates money to Camp Discovery simply by walking in the door. Each summer, a child with cancer benefits by that person deciding to be social on a Saturday night. It would be extremely difficult to raise that much money in one night at a “non-social” event.

Overall, it’s clear we have room for improvement on communication about the impact of CFTC. Over the past 8 years, we’ve donated over $125,000 to the American Cancer Society’s Camp Discovery, making us their largest annual donor. This camp is provided at no cost to the campers or their families and gives them a week to simply be kids again, rather than the kid with cancer. At a time where similar camps nationwide are closing their doors due to funding challenges, the childhood cancer patients of South Texas are able to have remarkable experiences that change their lives forever, thanks in large part to the work Trinity students do annually to raise these funds. The Trinity community should be incredibly proud and supportive of this cause; I hope to see more of you involved for our 9th Annual Concert for the Cure in 2014.

Amy Walton is president of the Concert for the Cure Foundation, an alumnae of Gamma Chi Delta sorority  and graduated from Trinity in 2008.