Investment firm Bridge Capital is a silver sponsor of the upcoming Un Marianas Dinner Concert by donating $1,500 to the Music of the Marianas Association as part of its efforts to assist the Marianas during times of natural disaster.

The Un Marianas Dinner Concert, which will be held at the Aqua Resort Club poolside on July 14, is intended to raise typhoon relief funds for Rota and Guam, which were recently hit by the Category 4 storm Typhoon Mawar. MMA said that Bridge Capital’s donation helps the island musicians that have assembled for this cause get closer to their goal of sending construction-related supplies to Guam and Rota.

Tickets to the Un Marianas Dinner Concert are now being sold at $100 per person throughout the island as MMA volunteers are scouring the villages selling the tickets at the grassroots level.

According to MMA treasurer Gus Litulumar, the efforts being made are similar in nature to Guam’s efforts when Super Typhoon Yutu and Typhoon Soudelor hit the CNMI. “Their musicians held a concert in Guam and sent us a ton of tools and construction materials. We want to return the favor with a brotherly gesture of our own,” Litulumar said.

This marks the third occasion that Bridge Capital has bestowed their confidence in philanthropic organizations I’ve been involved with, according to Ross Manglona, resident executive of the Indigenous Affairs Office that is assisting MMA in the coordination efforts.

“It is important to note that Bridge Capital consistently gives back to our community in a multitude of forms, making them a responsible stakeholder and we must be cognizant of their efforts,” Manglona added.

Bart Jackson, Bridge Capital’s vice president and general manager, said their company has offices on Guam “and so we empathize with our colleagues there who are currently going through some rather inconvenient times alongside their families. With infrastructure still requiring major repair at this point, we are very happy to present a check in the amount of $1,500 to MMA and their volunteers as we too experienced similar calamities not so long ago.”

Manglona said the CNMI community is fortunate to have stakeholders like Jackson and his colleagues at Bridge Capital “that actively subscribe to our call for humanitarian assistance.”

He said tickets to the dinner concert are selling at a steady pace “giving me confidence that our fundraising efforts will be rather substantial, considering it’s a one-night event. I remain confident that our community will come out and support MMA’s fundraising endeavor as it’s in our island nature. There are early signs it will be a full house that evening at Aqua Resort. One such indicator is the number of early in-kind contributions already received from the private sector.” (PR)