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Artists’ ‘Hope through Harmonies’ raises $2,340 for Hospice Dufferin

May 4, 2017   ·   0 Comments

By Mike Pickford

A pair of local artists came together last week for the first annual ‘Hope Through Harmonies’ musical fundraiser, raking in $2,340 to support programming at Hospice Dufferin.

Setting up at Fionn MacCool’s in Orangeville on Friday night, acoustic duo Sara Rose and Alexis Troyak brought their unique sound to life, with a little help from The Spoons vocalist and bassist Sandy Horne, playing for a crowd of over 100 locals all in the name of raising money for one of the region’s most vital community support organizations.

Hospice Dufferin has been a beacon for those in the community seeking support following the diagnosis of a life changing disease. With permanent locations in both Orangeville and Shelburne, the organization currently assists roughly 400 clients per year.

Since joining Hospice Dufferin as a college placement student back in January, Ms. Rose had been looking for ways to give back to an organization she says “quickly made an impact” on her, coming up with the idea to turn a previously booked musical gig into a feel-good community fundraiser.

“Alexis and I started playing together probably four or five years ago now – music is our passion and we love to perform. We already had a show scheduled at Fionn MacCool’s and, after I started at Hospice Dufferin, I decided I wanted to do something to help out, so that’s kinda how Hope Through Harmonies started,” Sara said. “Alexis is a nursing student and I’m going through for PSW so it was a nice way of combining our love for music with our love for care.”

With several Hospice Dufferin clients, volunteers and staff in attendance, it made for a special atmosphere inside the local Irish pub, with the organization’s Executive Director Maureen Riedler saying she thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

“It was like a St. Patrick’s Day atmosphere in there – everyone was singing along with Sara and Alexis, everyone was just happy to be there,” Ms. Riedler told the Citizen. “It was a great night. As a non-profit, partially funded entity we have to come up with 70 percent of our annual budget ourselves, so whenever we have excellent fundraisers like this it’s a big, big help to our organization.”

Sara said she’s hoping to make this an annual event now in Orangeville having been inspired by the “incredible support and reaction” of the community.

“This was honestly so great. Heading in I was optimistically aiming for around $500,” Sara said. “Then, every time I went across to speak to Maureen, it seemed like we had $500, then another $500 and then another $500. It completely surpassed my expectation, not only from the money side of things, but just the overall feeling. On stage you can see everything, so it was nice to see the support and see so many people out having a good time. It was well worth all the effort we put into making it happen.”

The event served as the perfect kickoff to Hospice Month, with several other small, local fundraisers planned throughout the month to coincide with the organization’s largest annual drive – Hike for Hospice.

“We’re looking forward to Hike for Hospice, of course,” Ms. Riedler said. “We have a lot of special things lined up for this year’s event, so we’re excited to get out there this weekend, hopefully with good weather, and celebrate and enjoy an awesome time with all of our fantastic clients, volunteers, returning families and other participants.”

The Hike for Hospice takes place this coming Saturday, May 7, at Monora Park. Registration begins at noon with the hike itself starting at 1 p.m. For more information, visit www.hospicedufferin.com.

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