Benefit concert for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis this Sunday
Posted on February 7, 2008
JMU’s first benefit concert for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a lung disease that results in 60,000 annual fatalities, kicks off this Sunday.
UPB and 80 One Records are hosting the Breathing is Glorious Bash, which will be held Feb. 10, from 3:30 pm to 5:30 p.m. at Grafton-Stovall Theatre.
The show will feature WhiteFox, Doug Roberts, Russell Howard and 80 One Records’ Nicholson and Rousseau. All of the proceeds will go to IPF awareness and research.
“IPF awareness is very important to us,” said sophomore Amy Leggett, who helped plan the event with her sister, Rebecca Leggett. “It’s genetic, and five members of our family have died from it. If we don’t take action, it could be us.”
IPF has a median survival rate of three years and kills as many people annually as breast cancer but receives a fraction of the research funding given to less common lung diseases, such as cystic fibrosis.
Academic Enhancement administrator Joy McBride said that he has a special interest in the Leggett’s cause as her father was diagnosed with IPF in March 2005.
“IPF is affecting more and more people at an alarming rate,” McBride said. “Money is needed for research to help slow down or even stop the progression of the disease.”
80 One Records director junior Rachel Sarah Blanton didn’t know what IPF was until the Leggett sisters approached her with the idea for the concert. It was Blanton’s hope that the show would impact the JMU student body just as learning about the incurable disease affected her.
The featured artists of the evening shared the hosts’ excitement to support the cause.
“People need to educate themselves about problems and then motivate themselves to become part of the solution,” Nicholson said. “Unity through giving and unity through music is something everyone on this earth has in common.”
Former 80 One Records artist Doug Roberts agreed, adding that he hopes students will take a lot from the event.
“IPF research is a worthy cause to support,” he said. “I hope people come out of the show with an understanding of what the disease is and what they can do to help raise awareness and support for finding a cure.”
Colt Allgood, lead guitarist for WhiteFox, wants people to leave Grafton on Sunday entertained and enlightened.
“This is a fantastic opportunity to hear past and present 80 One Records artists and other musical acts, as well as to become aware of a potentially lethal condition,” he said.
Amy Leggett said she is not surprised by the student interest in IPF.
“The cause and effect mentality is prevalent in peoples’ reactions when they hear about IPF,” she said. “Most diseases and disorders have a way to fix it, or something to prolong the onset of its effects. It is very strange to people when there isn’t a solution.
Natural curiosity surfaces in these cases. When we share the statistics of IPF with people, the response is often shock followed by many, many questions.”
Her sister hopes the concert will help to answer some of these questions.
“We’re going to use the event to share our story about how IPF has personally affected us,” Rebecca Leggett said. “Our grandmother and her four brothers all died from IPF. We’ll also share our own fears about the disease and how scary it is to know that we are at risk even though we are so young.”
Admission to the concert is $2.
