Those who tried out but weren’t selected to appear on television’s “American Idol” may want to consider performing in the “Omaha’s Got Talent” event on Sept. 22.
UNMC College of Pharmacy students are sponsoring the show with proceeds going to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. All ages and talents are welcome.
Auditions for the talent show will be held Saturday, Aug. 25 throughout the day in the Central High School auditorium at 20th and Dodge streets. Cost for early registration is $5 per individual.
Eighteen to 22 acts will be selected to participate in the contest also to be held at Central High School. The most talented act will receive $1,000. Local celebrities and lymphoma survivors will serve as judges.
Organizers Tess Andersen and fellow classmate, Cara Bruckman, are members of the pharmacy class of 2009. They asked their class to take the project on.
“I wanted to get involved with the community and I think it will be a lot of fun,” Bruckman said. “They thought we wouldn’t be able to pull it off, that there would be too much work.”
A personal story about the struggle of battling lymphoma convinced the students of the cause’s worth.
Andersen at 35 years old is the oldest in her class and is a wife and mother of two. When she was a teenager, her father had stage four non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
“We were told to go to the hospital to say our goodbyes,” Andersen said. “Thankfully, he’s still alive.”
Her father now is 55. His physician calls him a “miracle patient.”
The students are looking for volunteers and donations. If you are interested in participating, making a donation or being a volunteer, please contact Andersen at tanderse@unmc.edu or 669-2812.
Tickets for the Sept. 22 show are $15 and will be available at the door, online using PayPal. Starting Aug. 27, tickets can be bought by cash or check at the UNMC College of Pharmacy dean’s office on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.