Wenatchee High School’s Interact Club raised about $5,000 in checks and cash, and $8,500 in pledges and donations during a benefit concert on April 10 for Habitat for Humanity, according to adviser Jon Magnus. After two years of working on this project, the Interact Club has raised about half of the $70,000 it needs to make a “halfway home” for people who can’t afford one on their own.

“Last year, at the beginning of the year, students presented projects and chose the one they liked the most, which was Habitat for Humanity,” Magnus said. Habitat for Humanity helps people get loans and purchase houses at a lower and more affordable price.

The club hosted a benefit concert last year and made $9,000, according to Interact Club President junior Rhiannon Schaub. Since people seemed to enjoy it, they decided to make the benefit concerts an annual event. This year it was catered by Visconti’s, and many local artists came in to play music, including Junk Belly and Rebecca Gilmore. That, along with a silent auction they put on, attracted people to the benefit, Interact Club Vice President junior Stephanie Coe said.

Along with the benefits, the Interact Club has been making a rap song to promote their Habitat for Humanity project that they will release in about three weeks. With the help from professional videographer Charlie Voorhis helping seniors Jackson Powell and Gabe Massey create it, they have high hopes.

“I think it will raise a lot of money,” Magnus said. “We’re trying to get it to go viral, and The Wenatchee World said they’d help out.”

The Wenatchee World agreed to help the Interact Club by asking all 41,000 people on their page to like and share the video.

“We’re going to create a GoFundMe account, and use social media a lot to get [the rap song] out,” Magnus said. “There will be a link on the video for people to use and go to the Wenatchee High School website and donate. We’re also going to put it on iTunes.”

Along with donating the money they raise, the Interact Club, with help from Habitat for Humanity, will be building the houses, according to Magnus. The development area has not been decided yet.

“We’re hoping to make a music video for it,” Coe said. “We need a lot of students to help out since [Interact] Club numbers have been down. Our motto is ‘service above self,’ and we need to get students who follow that and that are excited to help and like doing things for their community.”