In 2015, Jennifer Alpha attended her sister’s roller derby game in the Lehigh Valley.
During the halftime show, Lehigh Valley Girls Rock — a nonprofit dedicated to empowering cisgender girls and women, as well as nonbinary and transgender individuals, through music — took center stage to perform.
Alpha, who grew up in the Lehigh Valley and has played instruments since middle school, was mesmerized by the nonprofit’s original founders’ singing.
Inspired by their playful vibe and belting performance, Alpha said she felt she “had to” approach the band.
Soon after, she began volunteering for Lehigh Valley Girls Rock and gradually worked her way up to her current role, the president of the organization.
“I didn’t actively seek this path, but once I discovered it, I knew I wanted to be a part of it,” Alpha said. “It’s almost as if (Lehigh Valley Girls Rock) found me.”
The Lehigh Valley group is part of the Girls Rock Camp Alliance, an international network of 119 nonprofit, youth-centered empowerment clubs across the world, according to their website.
Alpha said despite being one of the smaller chapters of the alliance, Lehigh Valley Girls Rock is special because it brings Girls Rock’s mission to the smaller communities in the region.
The nonprofit’s mission is to create a space for transgender and nonbinary individuals and cisgender girls and women to learn music, regardless of prior experience.
“We address the needs of community members that lack many resources,” Alpha said. “Few groups focus on all these specific individuals.”
Lehigh Valley Girls Rock relies on their largest annual fundraiser, the Band Factory concert, to raise the funds necessary to sustain the organization.
Band Factory, which will take place on Dec. 7 at the National Sokols Lodge in South Bethlehem, features performances from Lehigh Valley Girls Rock members who form bands specifically for this fundraiser.
Band Factory supports the continuation of Girls Rock’s youth programs, which Alpha said is life changing for most individuals involved.
The nonprofit uses the funds raised from the event to purchase and store new musical equipment, provide financial aid to students who can’t afford membership fees and compensate board members.
Alpha said, like many other nonprofits, fundraising is one of Lehigh Valley Girls Rock’s biggest challenges.
“The more money we raise, the more scholarships we can offer, ensuring that no child is turned away for lack of funds,” Becca Buhler, the project manager of Lehigh Valley Girls Rock, said.
Last year, Band Factory featured 10 bands and raised over $13,000 for Lehigh Valley Girls Rock. This year, with only five bands so far registered to perform in December, it’s uncertain whether they will match that number.
Mary Collier, who will be performing at Band Factory this year for the second time, said each band that signs up is responsible for raising funds.
Bands go through three rounds of fundraising in the months leading up to the Band Factory show, Alpha said. Each round rewards the top fundraisers with gifts like customized band merchandise and posters, and the band that raises the most funds overall will win a recording session at Shards Recording Studio in South Bethlehem.
Buhler said it’s great to see the unique fundraising strategies participants use, including making jewelry, making mixed CDs and selling stickers.
It’s really incredible seeing creativity in this way,” Buhler said.
Despite fewer bands signing up so far this year, Alpha said Lehigh Valley Girls Rock still hopes to raise at least $10,000.
Buhler said the event was especially successful in 2023 because it was the first event after a four-year hiatus due to the COVID pandemic.
Alpha said many people in the community had been asking for the event’s comeback, and there’s a lot of excitement about it.
The bulk of fundraising in 2023, totaling $11,000, occurred in the months leading up to the show, and an additional $2,000 was raised on the night of the Band Factory event.
Alpha said she hopes to see a similar pattern this year.
Wth less than two months remaining until the December show, Band Factory has raised $740, according to its donations page.
In addition to fundraising, Collier said the Band Factory experience helps build a supportive community around Lehigh Valley Girls Rock.
Each participating band receives mentorship from Lehigh Valley Girls Rock instructors, who help with both songwriting and fundraising. Alpha said the organization also provides participating bands with all the musical equipment they need.
Band Factory participants either join with friends or are paired together. Then, Alpha said, they spend four months preparing for the show.
Collier said she chose to participate again because she wants to connect with new people in the community.
”Having a mentor there every step of the way, translating music and guiding me through the process, makes the experience even more easy,” she said.
Collier said one of the things she appreciates most about Lehigh Valley Girls Rock is the way it has helped her grow as a woman.
She said she’s always loved performing but has struggled with self-confidence.
“Women are often taught to be self-conscious and to apologize for everything in life,” Collier said. “In Lehigh Valley Girls Rock, though, the atmosphere is incredibly uplifting. Everyone is your biggest fan.”
She said the group has helped her navigate the world with more confidence.
Instead of saying “sorry” for mistakes, people in Lehigh Valley Girls Rock say “thank you” for patience.
“While it is about the music, it’s more about the experience of doing something you didn’t think you could do and feeling amazing,” Alpha said.
Comment Policy
Comments posted to The Brown and White website are reviewed by a moderator before being approved. Incendiary speech or harassing language, including comments targeted at individuals, may be deemed unacceptable and not published. Spam and other soliciting will also be declined.
The Brown and White also reserves the right to refuse the publication of entirely anonymous comments.