A musician’s “Star Wars” collection raises thousands for Rwanda.
The desk features Han Solo frozen in "carbonite." (Courtesy Mark Hall)
It turns out that Mark Hall, lead singer of the multi-platinum Christian band Casting Crowns, is also a self-professed “Star Wars” nerd.
Not long ago, Mark and his 12-year-old son, John Michael, had an office filled with “Star Wars” statues, autographed helmets, storm trooper paintings, and even a replica of Emperor Palpatineʼs throne. But Mark always knew that they would not hang on to the collection forever.
“We decided from the start,” he says, “if weʼre going to spend the money on this kind of stuff, weʼre going to do something good with it in the end.”
Mark sold most of his collection at a “Star Wars” fan convention in Orlando, Fla., last summer, and donated the $11,000 in profits to World Vision development programs in Rwanda, a country he had visited in June 2010.
Later, Mark auctioned his custom-built Han Solo desk, which sold for $10,500, bringing the total donation to more than $21,000. The prize piece was created by New York-based sculpture studio Tom Spina Designs and features Han Solo frozen in “carbonite.”
But as the collection dwindled, John Michael did start to wonder if they were doing the right thing. Mark says it was a teachable moment. “I just said, ʻSon, you know God doesnʼt bless us so we can just have; he blesses us so we can give.ʼ”
Another nice thing about the sale, Mark adds, is that it spreads the word about what World Vision is doing in Rwanda, a point underscored when one man bought a large Darth Vader helmet for $900.
“You know you just bought almost two cows for families in Rwanda,” Mark told him. “And he said, ʻFor real? You can do that?ʼ”
—Beth Douglass