Indigo Girls Lend Voices to Dominican Republic Service-Learning

Indigo Girls — the Grammy Awardwinning American folk rock music duo comprised of Emory alumni Amy Ray 86C and Emily Saliers 85C — joined the school’s Lillian Carter Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility for a February 21 livestream concert fundraiser that raised more than $46,000 for the center’s health care work in the Dominican Republic.

Each year, School of Nursing students and faculty provide essential health care services in urban and rural clinics in the Dominican Republic. The concert proceeds will be used to purchase basic but necessary equipment such as fluoride varnish for children, fog-proof goggles to protect health care workers’ eyes, pulse oximeters, rolling duffel bags to transfer supplies, and rechargeable otoscopes and ophthalmoscopes for eye and ear care.

“The funds raised will go a long way to provide necessary health care services — services that we so often take for granted in the United States,” says trip leader Margaret Payne 91MN, DNP, RN, PNP-BC, CNS, who serves as a clinical instructor at the school. “We can’t thank Indigo Girls and the donors enough for their support. The donations will be lifechanging for so many.”

The two-hour online concert provided an intimate experience for Indigo Girls fans and the School of Nursing community. The duo paused between songs to answer questions, take song requests, and hear from Payne and students about their experiences in the Dominican Republic. They closed out the night with their hit song “Closer to Fine,” featured in the Oscar-nominated film “Barbie.”

Cover photo: Indigo Girls Amy Ray (second from left) and Emily Saliers (right) spend time after the concert with faculty member Margaret Payne (left) and students Alicia Chen 24MN, Marsha Walker 24MN, and Rojean Sanders 24MN.