Daniel Hooft and Kelsey Porter of Taking August. (Supplied Image)

By Chris Brown

Backyard benefits

Taking August concerts raising money for charities

Jun 8, 2021 | 3:10 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – What started as a way for a couple of local musicians to shake off some rust turned into small donations for three local charities and a huge windfall for a fourth.

After an overwhelming response to ticket sales for three backyard concerts for small groups, Taking August’s Kelsey Porter and Daniel Hooft added a fourth show. They decided to auction off the show to benefit the local Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) chapter in honour of Ryan Pancoast, who died by suicide in July.

Porter says they weren’t prepared for the winning bid of $,6000 from Blaine and Cindy Kunz, or what happened after it closed.

“I was hoping to like raise maybe a couple thousand bucks so it’s been, we were thrilled that we had such a great amount of money come in. Blaine and Cindy Kunz are huge supporters in the community,” says Porter. “And then (Ryan’s parents) Milt and Barb Pancoast who are family members to us also decided to match the highest bid so we’re over $12,000 right now.”

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The total is $12,500 thanks to an additional donation by Kim Pancoast. Porter hopes that even more donations will be made the day of the show.

She says the CMHA means a lot to her.

“We did have a family member pass away during COVID and so this is pretty close to my heart,” she says.

The executive director of the CMHA didn’t even know her organization would be getting the money until the auction was underway last week.

Sandra Milne says they were and are ecstatic.

“I saw it up on Facebook when they tagged us and I started sending it out all over our socials all weekend,” she says.

Milne says the money will go towards the integrated youth services program, a collaboration between a number of different social agencies in Medicine Hat, and will pay for a youth educator for suicide prevention, mental health and addiction.

She adds the money will extend the contract of the educator and “make sure that we’re getting to all of the students and youth programs around the city and getting them the help that they need and getting them to the new navigator that’s over at the integrated youth services hub.”

Proceeds from the first three shows on June 4, June 10 and June 11 are going to the Medicine Hat & District Food Bank, Medicine Hat Women’s Shelter Society and The Beej Project for Mental Health, respectively.

The first concert raised $1,000 and the upcoming two are sitting at around $1,500 each. There is a waiting list for both and limits on outdoor gatherings will be relaxed on Thursday so Porter thinks the totals for those concerts will grow.