My name is Vivian Hsiung, but my friends call me Mimi. I’m a senior at Thomas Dale High School. This is my first year for Rock 4 Life, which I think is a great activity for orchestra students, and it also benefits the community. I don’t really get involved in activities like this because I didn’t really think doing all the work by myself would make any difference in this world. But ever since I got involved in Rock 4 Life, I came to realize that one person really could make a difference. Even though this is my first year of Rock 4 Life, looking at the pictures and videos from the past years really touched my heart. I can’t believe there is so many kind people using their own money and their time. That got my attention, and also became a motivation for me to sell as many tickets I can because each ticket we sell can help so many kids and families. This concert has gotten lots of attention from local radio stations, television stations, and local newspapers. Without all the students working so hard for this event, it would not have a great come-out. By making this concert a big deal we got people’s attention, and I personally believe that by doing this concert people will realize that if high school students can make a difference to this world, everybody can. Anything you do can help our issues. You can change the world. You might think that hunger is  just an issue in Africa or Asia, but do you know that 40% of the children in Richmond, Virginia are starving? Even the smallest thing can make a difference. That is why you should come to our concert. We are donating all proceeds to help world hunger. Also, by donating canned goods, money to the food bank, or donating one dollar can serve five meals for a starving child. If we can make a difference, you can too.

-Maya E.

“Take lots of pictures while they are interviewing me”, Jeanine said as she handed me her camera. I took the camera, and turned it on as Jack began recording Jeanine’s interview. “This is Jack and Jen, and today we have Jeanine Guidry of Rock4Life. Hello Jeanine!” “Hey guys”, Jeanine answered. “So what is Rock4Life?” “Rock4Life is a benefit concert at Thomas Dale, and this year we are focusing on world hunger” “How has that been going?” “Very well. We have put videos on Youtube, and we have student-created blogs. Recently we visited the Central Virginia Food Bank.” “Really? Tell us about it”, asked Jen. “The students had a blast. We had a chance to see how our canned goods went from us, to the people who need food.”, answered Jeanine. “Great. We have a student here with us, who has been taking many pictures. Why don’t you come over?” suggested Jack. I silently handed the camera to Jeanine, and took her spot near the high-tech microphone. I was slightly shorter than Jeanine, so I had to adjust the microphone. After trying to figure out how to move it for a few seconds, Jack and Jen both reached over and easily moved the mike down. “So Maya, can you give us any statistics about world hunger?”, asked Jen. “Well, every 3.6 seconds one child dies on hunger”, I began. “One dollar can feed five people, so the cost of one Rock4Life ticket will feed 50 people. Also, this year people spent more on pet food, than on food aid.” “Wow. Now I also heard that you tested how it felt not to eat for a day, tell us how that went”,said Jack. “It definitely was a challenge. I was tempted to just reach out and grab some food. It also made me think about the people who don’t have any food that they could eat.” “Well I am glad you learned something from your experience, and thanks for your time” ”Thank you”, I said beaming. With that, our interview had ended.

-Maya E.

The day was Wednesday, April 22nd, and I was extremely excited. Jeanine and I were on our way towards the headquarters of Cox radio. This building is the home of the radio stations 103.7, y101, Q94, and many others. We were going there to share our Rock4Life experience with the radio hosts of 103.7, Jack and Jen. When we finally got there, we walked inside the building, and I was immediately amazed. I had never been to a radio station before, and I was surprised by how many smaller offices were in the building. Jeanine and I stepped into the elevator, and she asked me, “Is this cool or what?”. “Very cool”, I responded. We stepped off the elevator into a large hallway. After successfully finding the right door, we stepped into a studio, and I met the people behind the radio voices. Jack and Jen warmly greeted me, and Jeanine began to talk about World Hunger. As she told stunning statistics, I glanced around the sound-proof room. I noticed very high-tech microphones, and whirring computers that seemed to belong to a science fiction movie. “So,” Jack explained,”today you will be talking about Rock4Life, and we will record it, and air it sometime next week”. “OK let’s get started.” said Jeanine.

-Maya E.

     Destiny Smith

Have you ever wondered how many students in your graduating class have or are currently going hungry? You would be surprised. They don’t have to wear cheap, grimy clothes to be hungry. They can wear everyday clothing and fit in completely with the crowd. However, when they go home they don’t eat dinner. In elementary school I was one of those students that missed a complete meal once or twice a day, and no one would have guessed. That was close to seven years ago. I now try to make a difference in the lives of others. I create posters and other advertisements to try and acknowledge fellow students and teachers, hoping they will spread what they’ve learned. I plan to begin volunteering in a soup kitchen and I donate my clothes to homeless shelters. I am a sophomore in a chesterfield high school and by these few things I make a difference.

I am not the only one who has an opinion about Rock4Life. Here’s what other students think:

Rochelle Sommer

As students in high school, our voices and opinions are not always the first to be heard, nor considered. We are looked at as young and naive by the majority of the population. Though some individuals fit this stereotype, a large number of us fill in the opposite blank. We can make a difference, and we do. On May 1, 2009, Thomas Dale High School’s orchestra is putting on an annual concert, called Rock 4 Life. This concert is dedicated to raise funds to help feed the needy and less fortunate people in our community of the Richmond area. Throughout the school year, we have been arranging a play-list of songs, and preparing for the logistics of our concert. In the last few years of our concert’s production, we have been very successful in raising both funds and awareness for our cause, which varies with each year. Currently, in the Richmond area alone, approximately forty percent of all children and families are living in poverty. This staggering number, reaching almost half of all inhabitants in Richmond, is a number that could be easily avoided. With the help of high school students, like myself and the others at my school, as well as all others willing to aid, we could drastically lower the number of people who suffer the pain of hunger.

Another student, named Christine Adler, toured the Virginia Food Bank and told me, “It was very cool”. “At first it looked like any old warehouse”, she said. She said people there would put bags of food on a large cart, and weigh their food.  The group of students went into a freezing room which was -10 degrees Fahrenheit, and contained ice cream. I asked Christine if she learned any interesting statistics, and she replied, “I learned that 40% of Petersburg children are living below poverty level. 38% of Richmond children live below poverty level. The Virginia Food bank said they give away 12 million pounds of food each year. An average adult eats one pound of food per meal, and a child eats one-half pound of food per meal”.

-Maya Earls

On Saturday April 11th, Thomas Dale students visited the Virginia Food Bank. I had the pleasure of interviewing  two students after their visit. The first student, Sydney Vonada, immediately told me, “I had a lot of  fun”. During our interview she also mentioned she learned the history of the location of the Virginia Food Bank. It turns out, the warehouse that stores the food used to be a tobacco warehouse, and it is over 100 years old! Sydney described the warehouse containing shelves of wrapped food, as big as crates. The building itself had many volunteers and scales that weighed the food. She finally mentioned that one dollar could buy five meals.

-Maya Earls

After I finish my homework, I usually eat some food and watch TV. One of my favorite shows is The Biggest Loser. On The Biggest Loser, several overweight people try to lose many pounds, over a series of weeks. At the end of my day, I also try to work on projects for Rock4Life. How do these two topics connect? Well, this year the members of Rock4Life are trying to raise money to help relieve world hunger. The more effort I put into the concert, the more I realized how terrible it is that the extra food Biggest Loser contestants eat, could feed several people for months at a time. Right now, there are 6,721,786,307 people in the world. 1,131,886,738 people are overweight. 890,903,520 are undernourished. How is this possible? In one country, people spent $222,132,665 on obesity related diseases, but across an ocean people are DYING of hunger! Some people are worried of getting too fat, and some even starve themselves. Across an ocean people are DYING because they cannot afford to buy food! I asked myself, “How can this be?” It is not like we cannot afford to feed the hungry. $31,386,242 could feed the hungry today. Yet, today America spent $96,580,082 on weight-loss programs. Today, people spent $41,048,819 on pet food. People in America spent more money on pets than on people DYING of hunger. How can this be? I figure maybe people do not know about the suffering of world hunger. I see at least 5 commercials about food every day, but I cannot remember seeing a commercial for helping the hungry in the past year. I know that people are trying though. $4,827,481 was spent on global food aid today. At the same time, $103,821,304 was spent on food purchased and then tossed this day. Before Rock4Life, I had no idea how big this problem was. I also had no idea how simple it would be to solve it. Yet, people are still hungry. People are still dying. 25,127 people have died of hunger today. 566,855 people have died of hunger this year. We can help them, but still we have not. I wonder, “Is it because we do not know?” or, “Is it because we do not care?”

-Maya E.

In support of this year’s cause, I decided to test how it feels not to eat for a day. I started Sunday, January 11th, 11:50pm. Soon after I started, I had my first temptation. I was attending my friend’s 16th birthday party, and she was serving cake. Unfortunately, the cake was served at 12:07, so I did not taste any wonderful cake. When I woke up the next morning, my mother was making eggs, bacon, grits, and biscuits. I could smell, and hear everything throughout my house. I tried to keep busy by doing homework, watching TV, and reading during the day. Around lunchtime, my mom started making tuna. I was pretty hungry by then, but I drank a large glass of milk and orange juice. By dinner, all I could think of was food. Of course, on the television there were multiple food commercials. Thankfully, my day ended. Afterwards, I definitely appreciate food, and I can understand the struggles the hungry deal with everyday. Imagine how hard it is to walk down the street and see people leave food on their plates at fancy restaurants. That’s why Rock4life is here to make a difference.

-Maya E.

This year’s cause is world hunger! We will be raising money, and food to help people in our community, country, and world. With the economy, it is getting harder to buy food. ($4 tomatoes. Yikes!) There are so many homeless people, and people living in poverty who need our help. Here’s a startling statistic: 30% of the world’s food is thrown away. That is a ton of food. But rock4life is not alone. There is a website called freerice.com that asks various trivia questions. For every question correct, 10 grains of rice are donated. Also anyone can donate to their local food bank. With a little effort from a lot of people, we can make a difference. Here’s an ending thought: How is it possible that America is the fattest country, but yet people are starving?

-Maya E.