On Friday evening, students gathered in the Old University Union to raise money to help fight life-threatening diseases.

Over 90 attendees were present at the second annual Vaccinate a Village Banquet, hosted by the American Red Cross Club (ARCC) and Kappa Sigma fraternity, to raise money for the Measles & Rubella Initiative, a global partnership that aims to eradicate measles and rubella in developing countries, especially in parts of Africa and Asia, where most measles-related deaths occur.

The measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine only costs one dollar to manufacture, according to the Initiative’s website, but in 2013, the World Health Organization recorded 145,700 deaths due to measles alone. Despite the MMR vaccine, measles is still one of the leading causes of death for children under five.

The banquet, which raised $1,000 through ticket sales and donations, featured half a dozen groups performing for the audience, ranging from singing and dancing to martial arts. A cappella groups like the Pegs and Crosbys sang, encouraging attendees to sing along with them. Members of Quimbamba performed salsa and bachata routines, members of Uyai Nnua performed traditional African dances and the Tae Kwon Do Club demonstrated moves.

Lillian Chu, the secretary for ARCC and a sophomore majoring in integrative neuroscience, said some groups, like Quimbamba and Tae Kwon Do, were chosen to demonstrate the scope of those affected by the diseases.

“[They represented] international cultures that are affected by measles and other performers were picked based on availability and eagerness towards helping charity,” Chu said.

Kelvin Gutierrez, the vice president of the ARCC, the campus involvement chair for Kappa Sigma and a junior majoring in economics, said that the ARCC wanted to diversify the fundraisers and charities in which they usually participate.

“We took this initiative on to try to add something more to what we do,” Gutierrez said. “A lot of time on campus we get the misconception that the American Red Cross Club is here just to do blood drives and we want to show people that we do more, we go above and beyond what we’re expected to do.”

Members of the club set up tables and spoke before the first performance about measles and rubella statistics, symptoms and information about the Initiative. Sammy Wu, the blood service coordinator for the ARCC and a junior majoring in integrative neuroscience, said that he hoped guests would leave the banquet knowing more about measles and how deadly the disease can be.

“There’s been a lot of controversy with the Ebola outbreak, but this is actually more contagious,” Wu said. “It can be spread through the air, like sneezing and coughing, as opposed to Ebola, which is through direct contact with bodily fluid.”

According to the Measles & Rubella Initiative, if a person is not immune to the disease, there is a 90 percent chance that they will catch it if they come in contact with an infected person.

Gregory Rovenger, a junior double-majoring in physics and philosophy, said that he was happy to attend the event and help provide the vaccines to children.

“Every child has the right to be vaccinated to protect them from diseases,” Rovenger said. “If we can prevent them, why should anyone else have these problems?”