HIM By HER Collegiate School For The Arts Presents WE ARE THE WORLD

In January of 1985, 45 of America's top musicians came together to support one of the most successful collaborations of humanitarian aid in history - the singing of "We are the World." Hearing students singing the song in the halls of the HIM By HER Collegiate School for the Arts, Harry Dunn, founder of the school, was inspired once again by the heartfelt lyrics. This led him to organize a We Are the World Festival event on June 3, 2022, 4501 E. 32nd Street, Indianapolis, 46218.

On June 3, from 9 to 11 am, all are invited to join in at the school. Whether you're a child or adult, a first responder, a teacher, black, white or any other ethnic group, you're invited to sing out along with the students as the famous song is played and sung four times through. If you don't want to sing, plan to come out to support the singers and their message.

In addition to the singing, there will be many festival-type activities. These will include food trucks, bounce houses, and various bands from Rock Garage performing different genres of music. All of this family-fun will be admission free.

"We are the World," the charity single written by Michael Jackson and Lional Richie, has been credited with creating a climate that highlighted how racially diverse musicians could work together to create a life changing event.

This is essentially the reason that the HIM By HER Foundation was established in 2014 and the Collegiate School of the Arts in 2020 by Harry Dunn III, and his wife Michelle. Harry Dunn is a former homicide detective and Director of the Attorney General's Office. Michelle Dunn works with the Indiana State Police. Together they started the HIM By HER Foundation - "Helping Improve Mankind By Healing Every Race".

The school serves students in grades K-8. The curriculum is infused with the "arts." "'Arts' is a wide variety of different things," Harry explained. "We try to help people in this community understand just how wide and vast the arts really can be. It's something that is a draw for a community like this that we are currently in."

The Dunns are happy to encourage students who wish to become entertainers, but they also make sure students are aware of all the opportunities available to them that are arts related. "If you want to be that rapper, that's great," Harry said. "But we also ask them, 'Have you ever thought that instead of just wanting to be that rapper, you could own the recording studio? Maybe you might want to be that engineer behind the camera instead of being the entertainer."

The school also offers a wide variety of afterschool programs-including reading, mentoring, Officer Friendly, and several different sports. "Extracurricular activities have been successful at keeping people off the streets," Harry said. "And activities like football, basketball-those type of sports events-exhaust them while teaching them some key fundamentals about leadership and more.

The facility is also home to a pre-school, nursing and vocational schools, a fitness center, boxing gym, and hosts many athletic events and leagues and various wrap-around and health services for people in the area. Additionally, HIM by HER has partnered with Eskenazi Health to provide a variety of services including HIV testing, STD testing, lead testing, youth counseling, family counseling, and dental work.

"All you can really do for a person is limit their excuses and offer them an opportunity. You can't fix all the world's problems. So, what we try to do here-we limit excuses and we give them an opportunity. And we do it with a holistic approach." The hope is that the We are the World event will bring people together to not just sing but to remind us that we're all in this together, regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status, or any other differences.

And the musical inspiration continues...

Do you love to sing? How would you like to sing and win money?

On June 4, 2022, the Him By Her School is also sponsoring Kingdom Explosion. This singing competition is easy to enter and can result in up to a $1500 Grand Prize.

There are three categories that you can try out for: Solo Artist, Gospel Hip Hop and Group Duo. Applications can be completed at our website: https://www.himbyherschool.org/kingdomexplosion. All entrants must submit an audition video which can be done virtually through Facebook Messenger. If selected for the competition, they will be notified by Him By Her.

There will be a $1500 grand prize winner per category, along with a $500 runner-up prize per category. Submissions are being accepted now through May 14.

This competition will take place at the Him by Her school, 4501 E. 32nd Street, Indianapolis, 46218 from 4 to 6 p.m.

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