The Common Vision concert held at St. Paul’s United Church on Sunday drew a great crowd for a good cause aimed at fighting hunger, they raised $3860 for the Canadian Food Grains Bank (CFGB) and St. Paul’s United Church will also be sending 45 postcards to the Minister of International Development and to the La Francophonie Organisation.
The concert featured a choir comprised of people from different churches in the community, and served as a fundraiser for the Canadian Food Grains Bank (CFGB).
The CFGB has held these fundraising concerts all over Canada with a great deal of success, and collects money that is then utilized for fighting hunger
The Canadian government plays a role as well with CFGB, in that the federal government matches the amount of money donated. This means, for example, that if the CFGB were to collect $1 million through its fundraising campaign, the government would then contribute that amount.
Once the two sources of revenue are consolidated, that money is then used to purchase food and pay expenses like air transport to get the food where it is needed.
“It was a couple of people who heard about this Common Vision concert idea that was aimed at stopping world hunger. There were a couple of people from our church (St. Paul’s) who decided to host the concert and thought it was a good idea. We were happy to get so much support from the other churches and choirs of this event,” said congregation member Heather Vermeersch.
The choir has about 40 members, with assistant choir director Judy Pratt and main choir director Anita Kuntz leading the practices and the final performance on Sunday.
Pratt and Kuntz also played a big role in helping to organize the event. Vermeersch noted that without their help the Common Vision concert may not have happened.
“We just wanted to support Canada Food Grains Bank and this was our way of doing that, moreover we are celebrating music from Walter Farquharson and Ron Klusmeier, who have also contributed their time to the cause,” said Vermeersch.
“The two composers of the music we sang today have been involved with the church and charity efforts for a while, and it was great to get such experienced people contributing to the cause we are raising money for.”
Vermeersch noted that she wanted to get people thinking about the big picture and thinking globally. She also noted that not everyone in Estevan has had a chance to get out and travel a lot and this was a way to help the people of Estevan contribute to an international cause that she believes is very important.
“I think a Common Vision between all members of our community is so important and this is all about the Canada Food Grains Bank and how to end hunger,” said Kuntz. “We have come from many different church denominations but today we have all come together to fight to end hunger.”
