By Carly Mandel
The sounds of guitars, drums and pianos filled St. Michaelâs church on March 1 for a benefit concert to help raise money for the non-profit organization Imagine LA, a program that raises money in order to reduce child poverty in Los Angeles.
Tymon Tai â08 organized the concert after working with Imagine LA several times and becoming familiar with the missions of the organization.
 âIt was such a meaningful time,â he said.Â
 Through his time with the organization, he decided that he wanted to help the organization on a larger scale.
Tai attends church with some of the directors of Imagine LA, so he was able to look into many different projects and potential events with them.
Tai collaborated with Imagine LA and came up with the idea of a concert. Lauren Maldonado â08 helped Tai prepare for the event.
âThere was not much student representation in the organization, so I thought I should do something about it,â Tai said.  Â
Jill Bauman, the executive director of Imagine LA, and her assistant made a presentation before the event began on behalf of the organization.Â
After the speech, various school music groups including the Symphony Orchestra, the Jazz Ensemble and Middle School Chamber Ensembles performed.Â
The organization helps the approximately 17,000 homeless children and their 8,000 families on the streets of Los Angeles to find long term housing solutions and achieve financial stability.
Imagine LA is trying to achieve a city where no child sleeps on the street, Bauman said. Imagine LA gathers churches, synagogues, mosques, companies and individuals to be a part of its adopt-a-family program.
About 100 students attended the concert. Admission to the concert was $15 and Tai said that by the end of the night between $5,000 and $6,000 were raised for the organization.
