United Way of Greater Nashua holds its annual Care-E-Oke event
The United Way of Greater Nashua has developed a reputation for fun, outside-the-box fundraising events. Participants at the annual Over The Edge event rappel from the top of a skyscraper. Skydive United has people jump from an airplane. On Friday, Nov. 6, the United Way will urge participants to face an even greater fear for charity: public singing.
The United Way’s Sara Ceaser described the Care-E-Oke event.
“It is basically a karaoke contest,” she said. “We invite community members to get up on stage and sing whatever song that they would like. We have a DJ who can play just the music and they can sing along with that music. It’s like a regular karaoke experience where the lyrics are viewable to the singer and they try to give us their best performance and they raise money for the opportunity to do that.”
Ceaser said that because each United Way chapter focuses on local needs and causes, her organization tries to focus its fundraisers that are well-suited to the Nashua area.
“We do pay attention to what’s going on in the community,” she said. ”We know that there is a lot of interest in karaoke around here, which was why we thought that there would be interest in an event like this.” She said people’s fear of singing in public actually helps draw them into a fundraiser like this. “I think the fear helps. It gives people incentive. It gives friends a reason to be supportive, to encourage them. to help them get over their fears.”
That support is a factor in raising money, Ceaser said. Friends and family sponsor singers to do their best, or, depending on the dynamics of their relationship, to fail entertainingly.
“All singers are required to raise some money and it’s a fundraiser through that part,” she said, “and then it’s a fundraiser through the ticket sales and sponsorships that we receive also. So it’s a fun night. It’s usually a pretty enthusiastic audience and it’s normally got around 20 performers. We have a lot of individual performers that are going to be singing and some groups as well.”
Mike Apfelberg is the president of United Way of Greater Nashua.
“This is our fourth year doing this event,” he said. “It’s been successful in a lot of ways. Financially it’s a viable fundraiser for us, but it also is a great way to get our message out in the community with possibly a different group of people who don’t know anything about United Way.”
Apfelberg said he has sung at each of the previous Care-E-Oke events.
“I’ve done it every year,” he said. “There’s no event that’s so crazy that I will put out there in front of my board and into the community that I won’t be willing to do myself. I’ve done Over the Edge [rappelling from the top of the Brady Sullivan Building in Manchester] a couple times, actually. I did skydiving the first year we did it. I’ve done karaoke every year we’ve done it. And karaoke is a funny event that way. Literally an hour ago I was talking to one of my board members who said, ‘I will never jump out of a plane or off a building, but I’ll do karaoke with you.’”
“My group is the lead-off group. every year,” Apfelberg said. “This year we’re [calling ourselves] the United Diamonds. We’re doing a Neil Diamond song, ‘Sweet Caroline.’ We’re always a group, not me by myself. God help you if I’m ever singing by myself. You wouldn’t want that, trust me.”
Care-E-Oke
What: An evening of karaoke held by the United Way of Greater Nashua (20 Broad St., Nashua, 882-4011, unitedwaynashua.org).
When: Friday, Nov. 6, from 7 to 10 p.m.
Where: Nashua Center for the Arts, 201 Main St. in Nashua
More: General admission tickets are $30 for adults, $20 for children and seniors. Visit unitedwaynashua.org/event/care-e-oke to purchase tickets or to register to compete.
Featured photo: Previous Care-E-Oke event. Courtesy of United Way of Greater Nashua.
