Carla Clark | For The Republic Jim Roberts, at right, with Johnny and the Total Eclipse, performs during SING! A Karaoke Event benefiting Advocates for Children! at the Commons, Columbus, Ind., Saturday, April 13, 2024.
Advocates for Children’s yearly Sing fundraiser returns on Saturday, with new teams and new themes that will leave you singing along.
This year’s karaoke competition will see five teams battling for first place, including the Jennings County Democrats, Shepard Insurance and Centra Credit Union, according to Advocates for Children Director of Development Jaclyn Vanosdol. Returning from last year’s competition, Community Education Coalition President Jim Roberts will be doing his Elvis impersonation as part of the Blue Suede Crew, a group which includes his three grandchildren.
Newcomers Sky Sport Fitness will be performing a Katy Perry mashup while performing choreography on stationary exercise bikes, owner Christine Nesci said. She said they chose to do this routine because so many people know the songs and will sing along.
“And because it’s a mashup, it’s great for spinning … because when we ride, it’s almost like a dance. It’s a lot of choreography,” Nesci said. “So when we’re riding on the bike, we’re not just sitting and pedaling, we’re standing and we’re doing all kinds of stuff with our upper body as well.”
Audience members then vote with their dollars for their favorite team, but they can also join in on the fun in open mic karaoke during the breaks, Vanosdol said. For $25, audience members can nominate and challenge their friends to go up on stage and perform, with nominees’ fate left in the hands of the “Wheel of Oke.”
If performing karaoke isn’t your forte, Vanosdol said audience members can purchase “insurance” that will keep them safe from being nominated. However, if someone is nominated and they don’t have insurance, she said their choices are to perform or the price of insurance doubles to $100.
“It’s just a fun, interactive part of the show,” Vanosdol said. “It’s probably my favorite part, honestly.”
The goal with each year’s event is to raise $100,000, with last year’s event having raised a little over $75,000. The amount raised goes towards continuing Advocates for Children’s mission of serving children in need. Vanosdol said their biggest focus right now is on 89 children they have who are on a waitlist for an advocate, the first time they have had a waitlist since 2017, she said.
“So this year I feel like ‘Sing’ is especially important because of that waitlist,” Vanosdol said. “We want to get more CASAs going and trained so that we can get our waitlist down.”
Fewer than 30 tickets remain available for purchase at apowerfulvoice.org/sing, but people can still support their favorite teams by voting online even if they cannot attend the event. Vanosdol said Sing is always a great time to come together and learn about Advocates for Children’s mission and that those who are attending can look forward to a great show.
“It’s kind of a different event,” Vanosdol said. “So I think people who haven’t been don’t really know what to expect at first, but I think karaoke is one of those things that everyone has a shared experience around karaoke so I’m excited for everyone to see and hopefully get inspired to get their business involved next year to have a team. We’re always looking for teams.”
