Montreal’s Music Community Raises Over 600 Clothing Items For Homeless At Blankfest Quebec IV

Montreal’s socially conscious bands Society’s Ills, The Era Of, Rudebeats and Isolate Cast came together this past Saturday, February 18th for the 4th annual Blankfest Quebec to answer the call to help those in need during Montreal’s coldest winter months and raise over 600 clothing items for the city’s largest and oldest shelter, the Old Brewery Mission.
“I’m always impressed by the generosity and compassion from the city of Montreal, its citizens and its music scene. Their support along with media and sponsors to help raise awareness and proceeds is always astounding,” commented Blankfest Quebec organizer and music publicist Jon Asher.

Proceeds from this year’s Blankfest Quebec came not just from the music community, but also from grandmothers across Quebec.

“My heart was truly touched by the kindness of this year’s donations of knitted blankets, scarves and tuques that came from both the ladies at the Steger Residence in Montreal and the “Townships Grandmothers” who quilted blankets when they heard there was a need to help the homeless.”

The “Townships Grandmothers” are one of about 300 grandmother groups across Canada that raise money and awareness to help relieve the suffering and turn the tide on HIV/AIDS in Africa and are linked to the “Grandmothers to Grandmothers” campaign of the Stephen Lewis Foundation that helps over 16 million AIDS orphans in Africa who are presently being cared for by their grandmothers because their parents died of AIDS.  For more info please visit  www.stephenlewisfoundation.org and www.grandmotherscampaign.org.

A special thanks to Blankfest Quebec’s sponsors and supporters, Frites Alors! McGill, Skunk Magazine for their donated fundraising prizes, Labyrinthe for donating T-shirts for the homeless and fundraising prizes, Dungeonworks Productions, RockandRollReport.com, Heavy Metal Music Association of Canada & Asher Media Relations, along with Montreal’s media, CTV, Montreal Gazette, Montreal Mirror, CJLO 1690AM, CKUT 90.3FM, CJAD 800AM.

Total of Collected Clothing Items

48 Blankets

88 Shirts

19 pants

99 tuques

117 scarves

25 coats

76 sweaters

34 pairs of gloves

20 pairs of socks

102 Baby Clothing

1 Pair of shoes

Total Amount: 629 Clothing Items

About: Blankfest Quebec is organized by Jon Asher, in collaboration with the Old Brewery Mission, and was launched after Jon read about his friend, New York City indie rock veteran Kenn Rowell of The Baghdaddios, who founded Blankfest in 1997 and has been organizing the annual blanket fundraiser in New York City for the past 15 years.

In the past, Rowell says, Blankfest NYC has raised more than 6,000 total donations that have been distributed to the homeless in the New York City area and has inspired similar efforts in New Jersey, Manhattan and Nottingham, UK. Among the many distinguished artists who have performed at past international Blank-Fests are: Rothberg (EMI), Buddy Cage (Grateful Dead), Marc Rizzo (Soulfly) and Meg Griffin (Sirius Radio).

For info on Blankfest please visit the folloiwng links:
http://www.blankfest.org/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Blankfest-Quebec/124607864221341

Sponsors:

Skunk Magazine – http://www.skunkmagazine.com/

Labryinthe – http://www.labyrintherock.com/

Asher Media Relations – http://ashermediarelations.com/

Heavy Metal Music Association of Canada (H.M.M.A.C.) – http://www.facebook.com/HMMACANADA

Dungeonworks Productions – http://www.facebook.com/groups/105887138551/

Rock and Roll Report – http://rockandrollreport.com/

Band Links:

Society’s Ills – http://societysills.bandcamp.com/ (Free Downloads)
Music Video – The State – http://youtu.be/peMwQ4daN-w

The Era Of… – http://www.theeraof.com/

Rude Beats –  http://www.myspace.com/rudebeatsfunk

Isolate Cast – http://www.isolatecast.com/

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About the Old Brewery Mission
Soothing homelessness. Solving homelessness.

For more than 120 years, the OBM is the largest network of shelters for homeless men in Quebec and the largest resource for homeless women in Canada, providing safe nighttime refuge to more than 125,000 homeless individuals and more than 338,000 meals per year, as well as transition and counselling services to help its clientele find the necessary stability and autonomy to rebuild their lives.

Thanks to the OBM’s transition programs, more than 3,000 people requested emergency assistance in the past year and more than 629 of these people no longer live in the streets.

Source: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Blankfest-Quebec/124607864221341