Fresno teachers organize free online concert to benefit community

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The Fresno Teachers Association hosted an online concert on Saturday night to benefit the community.

It was not your typical concert.

The only crowd there was made of camera crews, but band 40 Watt Hype was playing for thousands of listeners at home through social media.

All of that was made possible by non-profit CMAC.

The reason for the virtual concert went beyond entertainment purposes.

The Fresno Teachers Association coordinated the whole thing to raise money to help feed families in need during the coronavirus health pandemic.

"There are people that are obviously missing out and we, as educators, just know the impact of that and we want to make sure that we can fill whatever void we can," said Manuel Bonilla, president of the association.

The teachers association kicked things off by donating $10,000.

40 Watt Hype lead singer Aaron Wall said they were honored to use their talents as a way to help those in need.

"We love the Central Valley and it is our chance to help raise money and to give back in any small way that we can, be it a concert, some music... something to lift people up for a few hours," he said.

By the end of the concert, more than $12,000 was raised and that money will be used to provide food giveaways.

People can still donate through three different avenues - through GoFundMe: gofundme.com/f/FresnoConcert, Cash App: $fresnoteachers and Venmo: @fresnoteachers