We Are One hosts a back-to-school fundraiser concert to put school supplies in students' hands and shoes on their feet

Jessica Ceballos, Crossville Chronicle, Tenn.
·2 min read

May 15—We Are One, a nonprofit organization, will host a concert on June 29, 2024, to raise funds to help 7,100 students in Cumberland County with back-to-school supplies.

We Are One hopes to reach its goal of raising $120,000 to buy school supplies for the students of Cumberland County. As of May 14, they have reached 64% of their goal.

"The future of We Are One is to provide hope to children by providing school supplies, shoes, food and Christmas presents," said Jason Sitton, a We Are One member.

Run For Cover will play '50s, '60s and '70s music at the concert. The concert doors will open at 6 p.m., and the concert will begin at 7. The concert will be at the Palace Theatre at 72 S. Main St. in Crossville.

The tickets for the concert are $25 upstairs on the balcony and $30 downstairs on the main floor. Tickets are available to purchase online at https://ci.ovationtix.com/36136/production/1198543.

Run For Cover, the band that will be playing the concert, will not receive any portion of the funds raised for this effort. The band volunteered to play for free to raise money for the students. We Are One hopes to raise $10,000 solely with the concert fundraiser.

The funds that are raised for the back-to-school needs of the students will help them get new backpacks, school supplies and shoes for the new school year. The students' shoes are all pre-determined by size from the schools. Eight hundred students will receive new shoes.

Sitton said We Are One exists "to unite people toward a cause so when the need arises, we are all there to lend a hand."

Once the money has been raised, We Are One will hold a work day on July 13 to distribute the school supplies. They hope to recruit 1,000 volunteers to help on this day. We Are One will also spend part of this day completing minor maintenance for the schools' landscaping.

"We Are One means that all of [the churches] are together; we aren't just separate little places," said Rhonda Miller, a volunteer for We Are One. "I believe that it is just [about] the kids."

We Are One has held other fundraising efforts like the food giveaway in August 2023. This volunteer event was an effort to help the community by providing medical support, free haircuts and food.

We Are One was created by a group of five local business owners who want to help the community, Sitton said. They are John Stubbs, Philip Burnett, Jonathan Miller, Kat Philips and Sitton. Sitton added they prefer to keep the focus on the organization. It is a charity representing all the local churches for the students in Cumberland County as an interdenominational nonprofit.