2021-09-22

Local musician to host fundraiser for caring hospital staff

It's better late than never and Christopher Craig is sticking to his promise to host a fundraiser in support of the nurses at the South Shore Regional Hospital, who cared for him during an eight-month stay there in 2019.

Rock for a Cause 2 is set to take place along Bridgewater's King Street, next to FirkinStein Brewing on September 25 from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. The Pleasantville resident had planned to hold the fundraiser a while ago, but COVID got in the way.

Alison Clements, Development Officer with the Health Services Foundation of the South Shore, has been helping Craig organize and promote the event that will feature five local bands, a DJ'd street dance and food trucks. "Which is super exciting because live music is just starting to come around, and we certainly haven't been able to dance to a DJ in a long time,'' she says. "So, hopefully it will bring a good party atmosphere to King Street.''

The Town of Bridgewater has been supportive of the effort by donating the in-kind services for the street closure for the duration of the fundraiser, as well as covering the food truck vendor licence fees for the day. Clements is hoping people will continue to keep social distancing in mind, but there will be volunteers onsite monitoring the situation throughout the day.

Entry is by donation for the Health Services Foundation of the South Shore, and all monies raised are going to the Nursing Education Fund which nurses at the South Shore Regional Hospital will be able to tap into if they want to further their education.

"It's truly meant as a thank-you for nurses. Christopher Craig has had quite the journey here at South Shore Regional Hospital with his health, and he just really wanted to have a way to say thank-you,'' Clements explains. "When we're looking for ways to say thank-you, we often look to our strong suit and that happens to be that he is a musician. So, this was something natural for him to put together, and although fundraising can be tough he has taken it on like a champ.''

Craig is doing well these days but having come close to death a couple of times has changed him forever. Feeling unwell one day, he arrived at the hospital where his gastrointestinal tract "snapped." Had it happened anywhere else, he suggests, he would not have survived.

The first night he was hospitalized, he was told he had a 10 per cent chance of survival. "And once I made it through the night they gave me a 25 per cent chance of making it through the week without one of my major organs failing. But here I am.''

The fact it happened while he was in hospital basically saved his life, and he has nothing but praise for the doctor and nursing staff on the third floor of the South Shore Regional Hospital, who he says slowly put him back together again with a lot of care and patience.

Although the original fundraiser had been planned for a local bar, he decided to hold Rock for Cause 2 outdoors where he could make it even bigger and better. He hopes it will be a day of fun, community and unity and raise some well-deserved money for those who have been battling the pandemic for the past two years.

"There's no doubt in my mind that I wouldn't be here without them. The nurses have been the backbone of our community for the past two years. We've had a rough three years in this town, and it's time for us to let our hair down and have a good day and celebrate our essential workers and healthcare workers.''

A Facebook event has been set up for Rock for a Cause 2 and it's also being promoted on the foundation's social media.

The musical line-up includes: Keith Doucet & The Bucket List (3 p.m. to 4 p.m.); The Bucket List (4 p.m. to 6 p.m.); Craig's band Midlife Crisis & the Millennials (6 p.m. to 7 p.m.); Daysick (7 p.m. to 8 p.m.); Ben Nickerson (8 p.m. to 9 p.m.); and a street dance, DJ Theory (9 p.m. to 11 p.m.)