Area poets and musicians will come together Friday, Sept. 9 to raise funds for flood relief and recovery efforts in Eastern Kentucky.
The Eastern Kentucky Relief Benefit event will be held starting at 6:30 p.m. at WordPlay Cincy to raise funds for the Hindman Settlement School’s Flood Relief Fund. Damaged by the floods itself, the school in Hindman remains a central point for flood relief efforts.
Since the flood, staff and volunteers have been collecting funds and distributing supplies for flood victims but its efforts have shifted to fulfilling the need for items for rebuilding in the community.
Hindman Settlement School was the first rural social settlement school in America, started by Hindman residents May Stone and Katherine Pettit in 1902 to provide education, health and social services in the Eastern Kentucky area.
The event is sponsored by the Urban Appalachian Community Coalition, whose offices are in Norwood, Ohio, as well as Wordplay Cincy, Downbound Books and Shake it Records.
Wordplay, located at 1556 Chase Avenue in Cincinnati, is a nonprofit organization working to promote and encourage literacy for all ages.
Participating readers will include Robert Gipe, Richard Hague, Pauletta Hansel, Michael Henson, Yalie Kamara, MoPoetry Philips and Carter Sickles. Bands include Dale Farmer and Ma Crow, Jay Hill, Wussy’s Mark Messerly and the Tina Fey Band.
For more information, see the Urban Appalachian Community Coalition event page or, for more on the school or to donate directly, see the Hindman Settlement School webpage.
