NASHVILLE - The Nashville Sounds joined with Grammy Award-winning recording group Jars Of Clay and an impressive showing of fans to raise $8,500 for the band's Blood:Water Mission on Friday evening at Greer Stadium. A crowd of 8,409 attended the game, many of whom arrived early to enjoy the Purity Faith Night concert performed by Jars Of Clay.
In addition to donating $1 from all Faith Night tickets sold for the event, the Sounds collected money throughout and after the game in support of the Blood:Water Mission program.
The Sounds' Faith Night contributions will be specifically committed to community development in Lwala, a rural village in western Kenya to support the efforts of Milton and Fredrick Ochieng, Lwala natives and brothers who are current Vanderbilt medical students constructing a health clinic in their home village. The Ochieng brothers, who were in attendance at the game and delivered a heartwarming address to Sounds fans, lost their parents to AIDS.
Friday's fundraiser for Blood:Water Mission continues the Sounds' strong history of philanthropic support through the successful Purity Faith Nights program. The team and its fans have built three Faith Houses in the Nashville area in conjunction with the Habitat For Humanity program.
Last summer, the Sounds and Jars of Clay joined forces for a Faith Night that raised enough money to provide a clean well to the village of Lwala. It is believed to be the first known effort by a minor league team to reach out far beyond its community, region, country, and continent to make a difference in a community around the world.
Blood:Water Mission exists to promote clean blood and clean water efforts in Africa, tangibly reducing the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, by building clean water wells, supporting medical facilities, and focusing on community and worldview transformation.
The Sounds will host their next Faith Night on Sunday evening at Greer Stadium, featuring recently-announced surprise artist Hawk Nelson. The popular melodic foursome will perform a pre-game concert prior to the Sounds' 6 p.m. game against the Tucson Sidewinders. The concert, which will take place in the Greer Stadium parking lot, is slated to begin at 4 p.m. Tickets can be purchased by calling 615-242-4371 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.
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