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JAY CRIDLINAn organizer appreciates the help he got from Tampa Shriners Hospital and wants to help others now.
Robby Osenton has been there. He has used a wheelchair. He has spent months of his life mired in pain, deep pain, and remembers how difficult it was to hoist himself out.
So when Hurricane Charley slashed through west-central Florida in August, Osenton, an 18-year-old senior at Newsome High School, decided he had to help.
"It's close to home for everyone," he said. "I just felt like I had to give stuff back."
The result is "Rock Like a Hurricane," a free concert and donation event Oct. 17 in Clearwater to benefit the Salvation Army.
Osenton has pulled together five local bands, including his own, to play from noon to 6 p.m. at the Quaker Steak & Lube in Clearwater. The Salvation Army will collect cash donations, Florida Blood Services will take blood donations, and there will be a 50-50 raffle. The Salvation Army will use all proceeds to aid local hurricane victims.
"They've still got their soup kitchens going, because there's people that still don't have power," said Robby's mother, Julie Osenton, who's helping organize the concert. "They're serving meals and water and ice, and they're really hurting for the money. Every penny we make will go to them."
It's the first time Robby Osenton, who moved to Valrico last year, has organized such a large fundraiser. But he's intimately familiar with charity work.
As a high school freshman in Decatur, Ala., Osenton suffered a spinal injury during a football game. The pain progressively worsened.
After the season, doctors re-examined Osenton's back and discovered he had cracked a vertebra. He underwent spinal fusion surgery, was immobilized for several months and went to school the next year in a wheelchair.
"I didn't know if I was going to walk," he said.
When he moved to Florida, his recovery was sped along by free rehabilitation sessions at Tampa Shriners Hospital. The experience taught him a lot about charity, he said. During a concert last year by his band, Strange Brew, he asked the crowd to donate money for a cancer-stricken girl in Riverview; the band pulled in about $300.
"Because I know what I went through," he said, "I feel like now that I'm better, I should be able to help other people."
Osenton posted solicitations for support online and called several friends in local bands. In a matter of weeks, he had lined up a handful of performers and sponsors.
Weary Salvation Army officials were thrilled to hear Osenton wanted to raise money for them.
"It is definitely something we need," said Jaclyn Ward, associate development director for Salvation Army of Hillsborough County. "There were so many people that were devastated by this, and we're still supplying food and meals and water to thousands and thousands of people."
The event has attracted more attention than the Osentons thought possible. Julie Osenton said they're hoping to attract up to 1,500 people throughout the day.
"Some people have been hurt by these hurricanes and don't have money to donate," she said. "But if they have been hurt, come out and get away from it a little bit. Come and enjoy the music."
Robby Osenton, who has relied on the help of friends for some of the more physically demanding aspects of organizing the event, is confident they'll raise at least several hundred dollars.
"There's a lot of muscle behind it," he said. "If I can get people to come, they'll give money we can then use for a good cause."
- Jay Cridlin can be reached at 661-2442 or cridlin@sptimes.com
If you go"Rock Like a Hurricane," a benefit concert for the Salvation Army, takes place from noon to 6 p.m. Oct. 17 at Quaker Steak & Lube, 10400 49th St. in Clearwater. Live bands include Gladstone, Lives' Page, Strange Brew, Crisis and Initial Doubt. There will be a 50-50 raffle and blood drive sponsored by Florida Blood Services, and the Salvation Army will collect cash donations. The event is free. For more information, call 643-4231.