Not many people have money to burn in January.
And yet, big-hearted people in the Comox Valley keep digging into their wallets after Christmas to support charities that help those who need it most.
Voices Three raised $1,718.95 for the Comox Valley Hospice Society with a 1st Tuesday Fundraiser performance earlier this month at the Mex Pub, up from $1,200 last year.
It was the fourth such appearance by the popular trio of Helen Austin, Sue Pyper and Judy Wing since 1st Tuesday Fundraisers began in December of 2008 as a monthly fundraiser for the Comox Valley Food Bank Society.
Each event featured a local artist who donated a performance to charity. Admission was a cash or non-perishable food donation.
With the unflagging support of Mex Pub manager Roy Tai, series organizers expanded the scope at the beginning of 2010 to allow guest performers to choose a local charity to receive the proceeds from the admission.
To this day, donations of non-perishable food to the local food bank continue to be a part of the event.
None of it is possible without the volunteered participation of the local musical community, coupled with contributions from their generous supporters.
A long list of charitable recipients includes You Are Not Alone (YANA), CV Boys and Girls Club, the Comox Valley Transition Society, Dawn to Dawn Society, Lilli House, Canadian Cancer Relay for Life, Parkinson's Society, MS Society, the BC SPCA, Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society (MARS), Today N' Tomorrow Learning Society, Love From Jenn, Prostate Cancer Network, Abbeyfield House and the CV Suicide Prevention Group.
Wing and her husband-musical partner Bruce began the series and still run it.
“Judy and Bruce are quiet, unassuming people who never toot their own horn and yet they do so much,” praises Pyper.
If you like good music and helping people at the same time, Jilli Martini will be the guest performer for the next 1st Tuesday event Feb. 4.
editor@comoxvalleyrecord.com