Tommy Mann, Jr.
The Orange Leader
October 10, 2008 04:11 pm
—
A local church will hold a concert Saturday to raise funds for Hurricane Ike victims in Orange County and has included an Orange County native into the mix.
At 5 p.m., Saturday, a benefit concert featuring several Gospel music artists will take place at Greater St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church on 14th Street in Orange. Instead of an admission charge, the church will be accepting love offerings or donations at the door.
“Our goal is to bring the community together and to help those in need,” said Pastor Raymond C. Young. “A lot of aid has not been coming to the east side of the community, and that stretches from Interstate 10 to the Cove area. There is a lot of damage in this community and as many as 1,000 people are still displaced.”
The purpose of the concert is to raise funds for those affected in the east side community. According to Young, many of the residents of this area are senior citizens and low to moderate income families who do not have the means to make repairs or provide for themselves adequately.
“We have to come together as a community and meet the needs of these people,” Young continued. “There are some people who don’t have clothes or the money to get back onto their feet.”
Young said a lofty goal of $500,000 has been set to raise funds for residents of this section of Orange. Performers slated for Saturday’s concert include Orange native Altonnette Hawthorne, Gospel singer Douglas Miller and Gospel rapper, Eric Landry.
Also performing is Ruby Terry from Lake Charles and the Orange City-wide Youth Explosion Choir.
“A lot of people think that $500,000 is a far-fetched goal,” Young continued. “But anything is possible through God.”
Altonnette Malbrouth, known as the Gospel artist AltoNet, was born in 1978 and was raised in Orange until 1986 before moving to Baytown and eventually settling in Humble, where she graduated high school. She is the daughter of Alton Hawthorne of Orange and Tammy Taylor of Houston, and she still has tons of family members in Orange as well.
“My passion for music began at an early age,” Altonnette Malbrouth said. “God gave me a vivid vision as to what I would do with my life and my purpose is to write and sing of God’s goodness, to be a vessel, and to bring others to know Him.”
Prior to Hurricane Ike, Malbrouth was planning to hold a CD signing at a local location but was forced to make a change of plans once Ike formed and submerged much of the Texas coastline and inland communities.
Her mother, Tammy Taylor, is also her manager, and knows firsthand what other family members in Orange have gone through since Ike made landfall on Sept. 13, which is the main reason her daughter chose to take part in this concert.
“She wants to give back to her community,” Taylor said. “This concert is the best way for her to do that. We had family members evacuate to here in Houston, and places like Dallas because of Ike. They were hit hard back in Orange, and she just wants to help.”
Not only will AltoNet be able to perform on Saturday for Ike-relief concert, but she will also be conducting her much anticipated CD signing from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
“She goes back to Orange at least once a year, usually around Thanksgiving,” Taylor said. “So this is something which means a lot to her because she knows it has the potential to help so many people who were affected by this storm.”
“This Joy” is currently being played on several radio stations, including 102.1 FM locally, and the single, “What is This,” has even breached the Top 5 on some stations playlists.
For more information visit www.altonet-gospel.com or call Greater St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church at 409-886-8236.
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