Great music, greater message
Professors of Funk raising funds for Back Door Mission with annual concert
The Professors of Funk will once again be holding its annual Friends and Family Christmas Special to help raise funds for the Back Door Mission. Last year’s event raised $5,700.
By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express
For the third straight year, the Professors of Funk will be rocking for all to hear at their annual Friends and Family Christmas Special in support of the Back Door Mission for the Relief of Poverty.
The event, to be held on Dec. 21 at the Simcoe Street United Church, has exploded in popularity in recent years, starting from a one off idea organized in 18 days by founder Derek Giberson, to a show entertaining more than 400 people and is set to be broadcasted on Rogers TV.
“It’s been quite remarkable how, in three years, it’s grown considerably,” Giberson says.
This year, The Professors of Funk, along with a blend of modern and traditional Christmas arrangements and an array of guest singers, are hoping to be able to fill the church to capacity and raise more money than ever.
In its first year, the event raised $1,500 and that number nearly quadrupled to $5,700 last year.
All the funds from the pay-what-you-can ticket sales are donated to the Back Door Mission which, along with the busy holiday season, has been working to address a growing need on city streets.
Offering support systems for the less fortunate and three drop-ins per week, the Mission is also the largest distributor of meal tickets for the Durham Outlook for the Needy (formerly St. Vincent’s Kitchen), doling out more than 13,000 tickets each year.
“There is a greater need for the rest of the community to come up beside the Back Door Mission and help with what they’re doing,” says Giberson, who also serves as a board member with the organizations.
“There is a certain point where if there isn’t going to be enough funding available for things like the meal tickets, they’re going to have to start turning people away.”
And he says that things are inching closer and closer to that point.
“This is a community need where we need to come together for our neighbours, wherever you live in the city,” he says.
This year, with a capacity for 600, the band hopes to fill the church. For more information, visit the Professors of Funk’s Facebook page.