The first Will Read and Sing for Food (WRASFF) show in Hamilton County – which, according to event organizer Scott Saalman is the 153rd overall – raised $453 for the Humane Society for Hamilton County (HSHC). The show was held on Thursday at Schoolhouse 7 Café in Fishers.
In honor of Vietnam War veteran Bill Young, who was featured in the show, the funds were earmarked for HSHC’s Pets Healing Vets program. An estimated 22 veterans die by suicide each day. In addition, 2.7 million animals are euthanized in shelters every year.
Special guests of the show included the following:
- Popular Reporter columnist Janet Hart Leonard read one of her stories and signed copies of her new book, When the Hart Speaks: Whimsy and Wisdom from the Little House on the Alley after the show.
- Jessica Dyer Campbell of Noblesville added voice work to some of the humor essays.
- S. Marine Vietnam War Veteran Bill Youngand his wife, Nancy Young, who spoke about the greatest true love story never told (until now). The Youngs’ letters are the subject of a new book, Vietnam War Love Story: The Love Letters of Bill and Nancy Young (1967).
- Jason Wilber, who performed for two decades with the legendary John Prine.
- Reporter humor columnist Scott Saalman, the founder and long-time host of WRASFF
More about WRASFF
WRASFF, a unique mix of live music and humor essays, has raised over $165,000 through 153 performances, benefiting food banks and dozens of other charities (animal shelters, services for abused women and children, the United Way, Habitat for Humanity, hurricane relief, Rotary Club polio eradication, etc.) mostly in Southern Indiana. From 2011 to 2022, WRASFF performed in several cities and towns in Southwestern Indiana, including Evansville, where it earned the Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana’s Mayor’s Arts Award in 2016. The City of Jasper presented Saalman and WRASFF the “key to the city” for its community servitude in 2018.
Photos provided by Scott Saalman