Students can party hard and help a greater cause this Sunday evening in the UCen Hub.

Community Affairs Board (CAB) and Residence Halls Association (RHA) are hosting the “Party for a Cause” benefit concert on Sunday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. to raise money for Hurricane Katrina relief. Headlining local band Thriving Ivory – which has opened for Journey, Kelly Clarkson and Third Eye Blind – and opening act Brothas From Otha Mothas (BFOM), an all-male a capella group, are slated to perform.

Presale tickets for $3 are available tonight from 5:30 to 8 p.m. in Ortega Dining Commons. Tickets will be sold for $5 at the door on Sunday, starting at 5:15 p.m.

CAB Public Relations Coordinator Robby Cousart, a fourth-year political science and history major, said organizers hope to pull students together to help victims of the recent catastrophe.

“We decided we wanted to do something for Hurricane Katrina that would not only be through CAB, but bring awareness to the school as a whole,” Cousart said.

CAB Outreach Coordinator Maura Deignan, a first-year English major and RHA representative, said raffle tickets will be sold for $1 to raise more money for relief efforts. Prizes being raffled off include a beach cruiser, UCSB Bookstore gift certificates and Alternative Copy Shop course reader gift certificates.

Donations for Katrina relief will also be accepted, Cousart said. All proceeds from the concert will go to Direct Relief International – a Goleta-based nonprofit organization that works directly with local governments and agencies of the Hurricane Katrina victims.

Pam Van Dyk, a CAB adviser and community volunteer coordinator, said CAB, along with other campus groups, presented Direct Relief with the 2004-2005 “Outstanding Agency of the Year” award for its work with UCSB’s tsunami relief efforts last year.

Cousart said he expects over 300 people will attend the concert, bringing in an estimated $1,500. He said he feels confident the event will be a success because of the featured bands’ popularity.

“[Both bands] have a really good following,” Cousart said.

Cousart said he, Deignan and CAB External Community Coordinator Andres Mantilla, a fourth-year Latin American and Iberian studies major, have been organizing the benefit concert since Fall Quarter. The event was harder to plan than expected due to regulations and unforeseen obstacles caused by holding the event in the Hub.

RHA supplied invaluable help in planning for the show, Cousart said.

“CAB got lucky,” Cousart said. “RHA has been great about supplying a lot of the funds.”

Cousart and Deignan said they are relieved the planning is over and are excited for what they expect to be a great turnout for the concert.