Air Supply giving hospital lifeline
ENCHANTMENT under the stars.
This is what Paul Issa, chairman of the Issa Trust Foundation, says patrons should expect from An Evening with Air Supply scheduled for the Lily Pond lawn at Couples Sans Souci Resort in St Ann on June 24.
The inaugural concert is aiming to raise funds for the paediatric ward of the St Ann’s Bay Hospital.
Issa was speaking with journalists in St Ann earlier this week.
According to the chairman, the Australian soft rock duo — comprising Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock — toured the hospital as well as Annotto Bay Hospital and Free Hill Primary and Infant School in St Mary in 2015. It was on this visit the group accepted to be the foundation’s goodwill ambassadors and committed to perform for free at the concert.
“They are our only goodwill ambassadors, in terms of entertainment so far, and they represent us. We set up booths at their concerts all over the world and they even promote us on their website. It’s a new idea for us but something we want to be able to promote. Celebrities are in a unique position where they can leverage their fame and their name to do really good things,” Issa said.
Air Supply will be performing We Are Here, a theme song penned for the foundation. Singer Tessanne Chin and Reggae artiste Djani are also scheduled to perform. An after-party with DJ Bambino follows.
Issa describes the concert as “their biggest fundraiser” since the foundation started in 2005.
“It’s not just a matter of painting and fixing things. We are putting in the necessary equipment to be able to offer the best possible health care to the children who are here. We will not only provide machines but we will teach the staff how to maintain them,” he said.
Andrea Davis, event producer, says there’ll also be an online auction on the evening. Items including a signed pair of shoes from sprinter Usain Bolt as well as a signed instrument from Air Supply will be up for bidding.
Air Supply emerged on the international market in the late ’70s and is known for hits such as Just As I Am, Even The Nights Are Better, and Here I Am.