Mike Wolanin | The Republic People gather for Hutchfest at The Commons in Columbus, Ind., Friday, April 21, 2023. The concert was organized by the Landmark Columbus Foundation to raise money for the Crump Theatre.
Hutchfest sounded like a great idea to a whole lot of folks who rocked The Commons on the evening of Friday, April 21. They gathered for an inaugural event that could become a fundraising staple in support of plans to revive the historic Crump Theater just down Third Street in downtown Columbus.
About 550 people turned out, dropped $10, and tuned in to classic rock provided by local bands Cottonpatch, Brown 25 and Oddz R. Good times, to be sure, that also raised a tidy $25,000 for ongoing efforts to reopen the Crump, The Republic’s Brian Blair reported.
Local philanthropist and Crump booster Hutch Schumaker, for whom the event was named, chuckled at the notion that lending his name to the event — which coincidentally served as his 75th birthday party — might have boosted interest. “Well,” he said, “I didn’t know I was quite that cool.”
“I just think that there was the right kind of energy for this right now,” Schumaker told Blair. “… Part of the objective was to raise money, of course, but a lot of it also was to see more activation of the downtown and to encourage people to get out.”
Safe to say, Hutchfest checked both boxes. Blair reported that organizers may look at a two-day Hutchfest next year.
Clearly, there is heart and soul in our community for the massive undertaking of revitalizing the Crump. Judging by the debut event, Landmarks Columbus’ executive director Richard McCoy’s reaction may have been a little modest when he said, “I think we’re onto something.”
Adult prom fun also protects kids
In other recent news from The Commons, organizers of the 10th Annual CAP Adult Prom funding child abuse prevention announced the event collected $70,000.
Nonprofit Family Service Inc.’s Child Abuse Prevention programs will benefit from the generosity of more than 400 people who attended. As The Republic’s Brian Blair reported, those programs educate children and youth in grades K-12 and also adults about everything from warning signs to how to report suspected abuse, according to organizers.
Prom queen Lauren Solomon, who raised an estimated $22,000, said she knows people who suffered abuse as children, which motivates her to help. As April is Child Abuse Prevention month, there is no better time to help organizations like Family Service. Visit familyservicebc.org to learn more.
Coming through for those in need
Continuing with our philanthropic theme, the annual Empty Bowls fundraiser took a little longer than expected to reach its $20,000 goal from the Feb. 25 event, but better late than never. Organizers recently said individuals, small businesses and corporations donated afterward to add to the overall total and surpass the goal.
The result: nonprofits Love Chapel, Turning Point Domestic Violence Services, Salvation Army, Community Center of Hope, Thrive Alliance and Horizon House each will receive a check for $3,333 to further their missions, organizing committee member Richard Boyce said.
Empty Bowls is a novel event for these causes in which people buy volunteer-made soups, chilis, breads, desserts and more while listening to live entertainment and brief messages about the need to support struggling families locally.
Support these worthy organizations if you can. They exist to help our families, friends and neighbors in their times of need, but they can only do so with our help.
