The David R. Nunez Scholarship for Community Service and Leadership Benefit Concert!

On Sunday March 25th, 2011 at Murphy's Pub in Salem, Ma from 4pm-10pm there will be a benefit concert to help raise money for The David R. Nunez Scholarship for Community Service and Leadership at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Unfortunately I never got the chance to know David, but I know his wife Judith very well. We went to school together for most of our lives (we are the same age and we were in a lot of the same classes), and we are also cousins (my grandfather and her mother are first cousins). Judith has always been a fun, sweet, and caring friend and cousin. I can't imagine what she must be going through on a day to day basis since the passing of David, but her incredible strength truly inspires me as well as so many others. I spoke with Judith and her mother Barbara to get more information on this special event and to learn more about David.

David's mother-in-law, Barbara Schneider, publisher of the Jewish Journal in Salem told me,

"David's student leadership at UMASS Amherst as the first Latino president of the student council earned him the honor of having a scholarship named for him.  Now his friends and family want to fund it.  $16K of the necessary $27,500 has been raised. Now us as Salem as a community can come out and help with this scholarship and have a fun time (like David would want us too, as well)

David had a large personality.  When he was in the room, everyone knew it.  He had a generosity of spirit, a keen intellect, and extraordinary charisma.  He is missed every day by his family and friends."

I also spoke with Judith about why this event at Murphy's Pub is so important to her and her family and if she could share with me (and you) a little more about who David Nunez was, so we could get to know this very beloved and missed man a little more....

Judith Nunez :David was an easy man to fall in love with. He was handsome, loyal, trustworthy, real, and so full of life. He didn't care how many questions I would ask him and he had the loudest laugh in the room. He always sang the wrong words to the lyrics, was the butt of everyone's jokes, but would have given you the shirt off his back even if it was his last one. The love affair between David and his children began when our son Adam was born. They bonded immediately and the rest was history.

The biggest gift he gave me were our children and they are the embodiment of him not only in looks, but in spirit too. David was the type of dad who not only took his kids to places and on adventures, but he took his kid's friends too. He was a person who truly lived life to the fullest!

 Sunday night is going to help finish endowing this amazing scholarship, and truthfully, I just want everyone to be able to come out and celebrate this incredibe feat in David's honor.

David loved a good party, loved music, and he loved his captain & cokes. There would be nothing more that would bring him happiness than all of his friends and folks who knew him to bring down the house in his honor. David was a great man who died way too young.

Of course we will also have great bands and raffles, silent auction and food, so it could be a win win situation too.  Thank you to everyone for all of your support! This community we live in is truly a gift."

The silent auction has a lot of amazing items donated from so many local businesses. There will also be some rockin' live music by Qwill (My fiance and I listen to Qwill's Cd's " The Past Must Present" and "Arrows"  all the time..we love Qwill, and I am sure you will too!), Model Citizens, and Big Ol' Dirty Bucket.

There will be lots of fun to be had at this event, so it will be an exciting night out for anyone, as well as a great way to help a good cause;to help fund the education of our hardworking and caring youth in the name of a man who was that kind of student and person himself.

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Kids Under 14 free when accomapnied by an adult

21plus after 7pm

Tickets: $25

For More Information:

"The David R. Nunez Scholarship will provide financial support for students during their third and fourth year at UMass Amherst who during their first two years demonstrate both a strong commitment to community service and leadership and who have financial need. It is not included as part of an initial financial aid package, but rather reserved for those who have demonstrated service to UMass Amherst.   Once we reach $27,500, the scholarship is endowed and will be given out annually. Our goal is to raise $40,000, by what would have been David's 40th birthday, March 26, 2012."

"David Nunez (1972 - 2011) was a great leader and student advocate at the University of Massachusetts. As president of the Student Government Association, David helped give a voice to the student body so they could help shape their own student experience.

David’s greatest passion was equal access to higher education and his dedication to keeping UMass affordable was extraordinary. As President of the SGA, he led the charge against tuition increases during the spring of 1994 and eventually helped negotiate a tuition freeze for the following year.

In addition to his successful push for affordable tuition, David also assisted in reinstating litigation powers for the Legal Services Office, helped craft a new constitution for the Student Government Association and expanded multicultural programs on campus.

To donate to the David R. Nunez Scholarship for Community Service and Leadership visit www.davidnunezscholarship.org. "