Concert to benefit flood relief in Pakistan

Devastating floods in Pakistan have left millions of people hurt or homeless. In response to the crisis, the Yale community will present “Help Can’t Wait: Pakistan,” a benefit concert for flood relief, on Saturday, Sept. 25.

The concert will be held at 7 p.m. in Woolsey Hall, corner of College and Grove streets. The program will include music by the Yale Symphony Orchestra, Yale Concert Band and Yale Glee Club, and student and professional South Asian musicians, dancers, and singers.

The suggested donation for concert tickets is $20/$10 students. All contributions will go to the Pakistan Flood Relief effort — specifically Karachi Relief, UNICEF and the International Federation of the Red Cross. These organizations already have a presence in Pakistan and have begun the work of delivering humanitarian aid, services, and supplies.

Tickets can be purchased at the Yale School of Music box office at Sprague Memorial Hall, 470 College St. Monday through Friday, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Tickets also are available through the School of Music website: music.yale.edu/concerts. In addition, tickets will be sold in the lobby of Woolsey Hall beginning at 6 p.m. on the evening of the event.

The 2010 Pakistan floods began in July 2010 following heavy monsoon rains in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan regions of Pakistan.

The United Nations estimates that more than 21 million people have been injured or are homeless as a result of the flooding, exceeding the combined total of individuals affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and the 2010 Haiti earthquake. At one point, approximately one-fifth of Pakistan’s total land area was underwater due to the flooding.

Those who wish to contribute to the relief effort but cannot attend the concert on Saturday, can donate to one of the relief agencies working in Pakistan or online at https://transact.med.yale.edu/treasury/start.asp. For convenience Yale has set up ways to donate via credit card or (soon) by payroll deduction.

Updates on Yale’s disaster relief efforts for Pakistan will be posted as they develop here.