This year’s Chicago advertising agency band competition, “Battle for Hope,” is looking to raise $60,000 that will send 120 kids from Off the Street Club to summer camp and safely off the mean streets of West Garfield.
The 4th annual benefit concert, April 21 at the Cubby Bear, is expecting an audience of at least 850 adfolks, music artists and music fans. They will cheer the six bands that will be competing for the title of “Best Agency Band” and the satisfaction of knowing they are contributing to life-changing activities for disadvantaged children.
Last year’s Cubby Bear event collected $55,000 for Off the Street Club that enabled 80 youngsters to spend a memorable summer at Camp Mathieu, in Wheaton near the Forest Preserves, owned by OTSC since 1945.
This year, the event organizers — DigitasLBi’s Sujal Patel, VP/group architect and engineering lead, Simon Kissler, VP/ technology and Kris English, media supervisor — set a goal of $60,000 or more to benefit OTSC’s summer program.
Of the six bands that will perform, three that were voted the top bands of 2015 will encore another round. They are Cramer-Krasselt’s “Best Agency Band” Angry PICKles, AbelsonTaylor’s Hard to Swallow and DigitasLBi’s The Deliverables.
The other three competitors, who won their spots via an auction, are Trisect’s The Big Cheese, Weber Shandwick’s RFP and Accenture’s Fjordinary Heroes — Fjord being the design and innovation agency Accenture acquired in 2013 and operates within Accenture Interactive.
“Best Agency Band” of the year will be selected by a group of celebrity judges, “all of them in the music industry,” says Patel, a member of the OTSC auxiliary board and a guitar player.
Work on producing the “friendly competition,” as Patel calls it, was begun last October. “We keep our costs at a minimum by producing the concert ourselves, with the help of our hard-working volunteers.”
Funds are raised through sponsorships, which have increased this year, ticket sales, raffle tickets and a new online auction that’s open to all and will be offered on the “Battle’s” forthcoming website.
“It takes a tremendous amount of effort for our volunteer team to put on this event, but it pales in comparison in what the OTSC kids have to do go through in dodging the dangers of violence, drugs and gang activity in their neighborhood,” Patel says.
At the Cubby Bear, 1059 W. Addison; doors open at 6 p.m., show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 general admission in advance, $25 day of the show; VIP, $70 in advance, $80 day of the show. Buy tickets here.
