History
2010 - The Beginning
Night of Hope is a Concordia tradition which began in 2010 with five Concordia alumni; Karen Carney Worthington ‘11, Rebecca Brandt ‘10, San Bretzman ‘10, Jamie Foreman, and Brock Powell ‘11.
In January of 2010, a 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti which left the already-impoverished country a destroyed infrastructure and 230,000 dead.
Yvonne Goll, who graduated from Concordia a month earlier, felt called by God to go and help the victims of the earthquake. During her time there, she kept in contact with Karen and Rebecca through emails in which she detailed the hardships these people were facing. Yvonne used up all resources she could to provide meals and tents for the families in need. “Rebecca and I were so heartbroken about the struggles Yvonne was facing, especially since we were safe and comfortable living in Irvine,” said Karen. After hearing Yvonne’s stories, Karen and Rebecca knew that they had to help.
Many brainstorming meetings led to the idea of “a benefit concert focused on creating prayer and hope”. They decided to call this benefit concert “Night of Hope” so that they could give hope to those struggling in overseas.
Shortly thereafter, Sam, Jamie, and Brock joined the initiative. The event consisted of friends, students, and professors who painted live art, read poetry and performed live music. That year, $1,400 was raised for Yvonne’s work in Haiti.
2011
Karen and Sam continued to plan Night of Hope the following year. Both students were deeply involved with non-profits which are doing amazing work for God in Africa. Their goal was to support Concordia alum who were out on the mission field. That year, the funds were divided between two organizations: ABAN, which was started by Rebecca Brandt ‘10, and Fikisha, which was started by Sam Bretzman ‘10 and other CUI alum. That year, Night of Hope raised $4,400. The same students, faculty and staff who performed the year prior performed again to raise money for the cause. Everything was donated or sponsored for the event, including the proceeds from the vendors which were Wahoo’s Fish Taco’s and Coffee Bean. Many on-campus organizations came together to support Night of Hope. The lights, sound system and other tech was borrowed from Theatre, leadership, RES and marketing.