Do something here to counter the bad there.

Byline: Bob Welch The Register-Guard

You read the news about the grieving people at Virginia Tech - 33 dead after a shooting spree - and think: So what can I do for those hurting families?

At times, when people suffer from afar, those of us "unattached" to the horror ask that question and feel a twinge of survivor's guilt when coming up with no answer. What difference can we make?

My advice? Just do something. Say a prayer. Hug your child. Mend a relationship. Do something to remind the world that there's still goodness out there. Send a check to a memorial fund for the victims (www.vt.edu/tragedy/memorial_fund.php).

Want some inspiration? Here's an undertaking that speaks of that very spirit of giving from afar: a concert this Sunday to raise money for a sick little girl from San Francisco with ties to Lane County.

The "Americana" Chamber Music & Chocolate concert is a benefit for Ana Westland-Hurwitz. It's at 7:30 p.m. at the Wildish Community Theater, 630 Main St., Springfield. And it's being offered because people from afar felt someone else's pain and said, "What can we do?"

In December, 2-year-old Ana was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer in her jaw. She is the granddaughter of Robert and Virginia Hurwitz, longtime mainstays of the local classical music scene. Robert was a founder of the Oregon Mozart Players, is former associate dean of the University of Oregon School of Music and is a Bach Festival violist. Virginia is a pianist and longtime piano teacher.

When word reached them about Ana, Robert and Virginia left for San Francisco, where they still are, helping support their daughter and granddaughter during a massive series of chemotherapy treatments.

"They are, to the musical community, like the Frohnmayers are to the university community," says Sharon Schuman, a member of the chamber quartet that will play Sunday night.

The Hurwitzes' daughter, Rachel - the child's mother - grew up in Eugene and is a professional violin player herself.

When word filtered north about Ana's condition, the wheels started turning for Schuman and others.

She and the other quartet members - Matthew Fuller (violin), Jessica Lambert (viola) and Anne Ridlington (cello) - had done a sold-out concert at the Wildish in February. People had been turned away.

Why not do it again, with all proceeds going to Ana's fund? (Expenses for Ana's chemotherapy treatment will exceed Rachel Hurwitz's insurance coverage by a bundle.)

"You feel so helpless," violinist Schuman says. "But to bring friends together to make music - that's a chance to help. In some ways, I suppose it's for us, too. It makes us feel better. It's an honor to do this."

As Schuman organized the event, others caught the spirit, too. "Hearing the story, a guy who works out at the YMCA where I do gave me three $100 bills to pay for postage," Schuman says.

Paper Plus donated paper. The Copy Center gave her a cut rate. Alice Blankenship, a music teacher who played violin with Rachel as they were growing up and is a stand partner with her at the Bach Festival, turned a recent recital into a benefit for Ana.

"The outpouring from people is really inspired by the dignity of persistence this little girl has shown in all she's gone through," Schuman says. "She's totally trusting to these people taking care of her."

Sunday's event features Gershwin's "Lullaby" for String Quartet and the "American" Quartet of Dvorak. The music is synchronized with historic slides of Springfield, Eugene, Lane County and beyond.

Tickets, $25, are available at the Hult Center box office, 682-5000, and at the door. All proceeds go to help Ana.

The concert is a chance for those who got turned away in February to enjoy "Americana." A chance to help a family in need. And a reminder that even if a tragedy hits far away, we can still do something.

Bob Welch can be reached at 338-2354 or at [e-mail].