This spring, Vanderbilt's singer-songwriter crowd will enjoy a new opportunity to showcase their skills (and for a good cause, to boot): the freshly founded Kasiisi Project Vanderbilt.

Founded by sophomore philanthropists Sarah Quirk and Alice Bator, Vanderbilt's branch of the project is the first extension of the Kasiisi Project International, a national non-profit benefiting school children at nine secondary and primary schools in Western Uganda. The Vanderbilt branch, founded in fall 2008, aims to bring these children's plight to the attention of the Vanderbilt community and involve Vanderbilt students in helping build brighter futures for the young of Uganda through funding for educational projects. From funding for physical classroom buildings to providing scholarships, moneys raised by Kasiisi go toward improving the education systems of Uganda.

The Kasiisi Project is reaching out to all Vanderbilt performers, students and faculty alike, to help them bring awareness to their new project. The organization will be hosting an open mic night on March 18 in order to gather donations for the project's current objective - providing a full scholarship for one Ugandan student. The event will be a "coffee house" style with desserts and drinks, and all types and styles of performers are welcome - from spoken word to bands, the Project is calling out to all of the community to come to the aid of these Ugandan students.

Performers should sign up before Spring Break by e-mailing kasiisivanderbilt@gmail.com.