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Concert raises awareness and money for children

Marie Roberts, The TrailBlazer

Children in Kentucky who need care were brought a little relief Saturday with a little music from a nationally touring musician.

Sunrise Children’s Services, an organization that cares for abused and neglected children, is celebrating 150 years of activity this year. The program arranges foster care for tens of thousands of commonwealth’s children, from foster care to residential facilities and independent living programs.

The program brought Chis Knight, a Kentucky songwriter and performer who’s song’s have been recorded by Randy Travis and John Anderson, to the Morehead Conference Center to raise awareness and money.

Jill Hamlin, the regional advancement director for Sunrise, played keyboard for the A Little Bit More, the opening band. She said events like the Saturday show are important for the non-profit.

“It gets the word out in a different way,” she said. “Music brings all types of people together, right? So, this is one good way to get people who might not necessarily come to an event for foster kids or for kids in care, or some sort of thing like that. So, it opens the doors that keep people out.”

Stacie McLaughlin, who is in marketing for the organization, said the non-profit can’t do its work alone.

“We need the community people to help us survive and help keep making futures for these children who would otherwise be homeless,” she said. “Right now, there’s almost 10,000 kids in the state of Kentucky waiting for a home that are in the foster care system.”

She also said to there are ways to help without becoming a foster parent.

“You can do an event like this,” she explained. “You can do a book connection, a coat drive, do a pancake breakfast. There’s so many ways you can raise money for Sunrise, but if you can’t foster, you don’t want to adopt, then you support.”

Most importantly, both Hamlin and McLaughlin agreed that awareness is key.

“We have to get the point across that there’s hurting children here in their backyard,” McLaughlin says. “Not just out of the country.”

For more information, or to make a donation, visit http://www.sunrise.org

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