Amnesty International and KSTM have teamed up this year to bring Jamnesty to campus April 14 from 3-7 p.m. in Hopper Gym.

“It’s going to be a great time,” said Lauren Pass, sophomore and Amnesty International president. “How often do you get to rock out for a good cause? It’s perfect.”

The partnership came about after KSTM approached Amnesty International.

“Originally, the radio station was thinking about putting on some type of concert in the spring of our own just to help with the station getting back on its feet and do something for the campus,” said Jesse Stewart KSTM station manager and junior. “When we were looking around at dates, we couldn’t really find any open dates in the spring, and we realized that Jamnesty was on the books. With the promotion the radio station could do for it, we just thought it was a win-win situation for both groups.”

Amnesty International said they agree that the partnership will benefit both groups.

“We realize that by pulling together our resources, we could put on a lot better event than either one of us could do by ourselves,” senior Kevin Rice said. “Not only with our experience of having put on an event like this for four years consecutively, but KSTM also has broadcasting resources. The members also have resources as far as band contacts and what would have to go into that. It was just a mutually beneficial arrangement.”

Both groups said they promote collaborating with other organizations on campus, so it is likely that this joint venture will last.

“I think it will continue,” Stewart said. “Amnesty is just one group that KSTM wants to work with. We want to work with multiple groups on campus to help put events on. We feel that the radio station could have a really big part on campus helping any group with organizing events like this. So far, I have been pleased with the results. There is definitely a learning curve when you start working on something you have never worked on before together. You have to start figuring things out together, but for the most part it has been really good. I think in the future it will continue.”

KSTM said they have experience working with other campus organizations. They worked with Religious Life Community (RLC) to put on the first Open Mic Night in Dirlam Lounge.

Both organizations said they believe this partnership will result in a bigger Jamnesty. One of the changes to this year’s event is the addition of a fourth band to the line up.

“It’s free admission and all free-will donations, and it’s a little bigger,” Pass said. “We have one extra band, so they’re playing longer. We want to have this open forum where people can come and go as they please. It’s a little bit more relaxed, less formal and of course the charity is different this year.”

One of the four bands that will play at Jamnesty is Mighty Shady. The band was first featured on campus at the March to End the Isms. Two current students, juniors Joel Schwichtenberg, bassist, and Jared Murphy, guitarist, are members.

“It’s really exciting that we’re getting exposed to Simpson people,” Schwichtenberg said. “We’ve had two shows already and are glad to get more exposure.”

Both organizations worked to arrange bands for the event. The radio station said they are also using their resources to give Jamnesty some air time.

“The radio station has been promoting it on air for the past two weeks,” Stewart said. “All of our DJs have been promoting it and we are promoting it through social media.”

Although admission is free, Amnesty International will have a free-will donation for spare change, blankets or nonperishable food items in order to support the fight against hunger.

“Our goal for this event is to really just raise awareness about food and hunger programs in Des Moines and what people can do,” Rice said. “Basically, we want to make people aware of the avenues, so they can contribute. We also want to do it in an appealing way, such as a concert. Although it may not be immediately obvious in a community like Indianola or Des Moines, there are issues with people being able to afford food or feed their family. We are trying to bring awareness to the need that is out there, but also to the resources that are available to students, such as the food pantries that are in Des Moines and also the one that is here in Indianola, Helping Hand.”

KSTM and Amnesty International said that the collaborative effort to make Jamnesty a bigger event comes with a hope that more than just Simpson students will attend.

“It doesn’t matter if you are a Simpson student or even a Central student, anyone is more than welcome to stop by,” Pass said. “Maybe we can get a mosh pit going.”