Editor's Note 15: on charity

The power of the dollar is often forgotten. With the Canadian dollar passing ours, it is easy to see why.

However, just a few dollars here and there can make a large difference in the lives of people at home and abroad. This weekend, the Duke University Marching Band is showing a documentary to raise money for music programs. 50 percent of the gross revenue will go to Southern High School in Durham.

This financially-deprived facility has had to turn away students interested in joining their band, because of the lack of resources and musical instruments.

In the safe bubble of Duke, many of us-myself included-often forget the suffering that exists outside our three-foot-high walls. The price of a matinee can buy a lot of hapiness for needy teenagers in Durham.

Thursday night, Inside Joke, one of my favorite student performing groups, will debut the show "Wear Orange for Manatee Syphilis." Although the name may jab at the plethora of color-coordinated causes, the proceeds go to WISER, which helps provide education for girls in Kenya.

I will be there and definitely encourage those with free time and spare change to also come to Reynolds at 9:00 p.m. When I first came to Duke, Inside Joke was... well, frankly, an inside joke.

The rough-around-the-edges sketches were performed in the confined space of Brody Theater with 20 or 30 people in the audience-most of us were friends of IJ members. In less than three years, Inside Joke has developed into an outstanding sketch comedy group, on-par with national-touring professional troupe's.

We throw over $150,000 at this school during our stay here and yet it may be an extra $5 that ends up changing somebody's world.