A Peterborough agency that has assisted the downtrodden with a “hand up” since 2011 is now asking the community at large for the same, in the form of attendance at a fundraising concert this coming weekend.
The benefit for FRIENDS Peterborough, a humanitarian not-for-profit charitable organization run by former Toronto Blue Jays and Peterborough Petes chaplain David Fisher, takes place on Sunday, August 26th from 7 to 9 p.m. at Del Crary Park.
The fundraiser will feature musical entertainment by singer/guitarist Pete Gauthier, Washboard Hank and The Wringers, and the McDonnel Street Gospel Quartet (Dianne Latchford, Curtis Driedger, Sweet Mountain Muriel, and Colin MacAdam).
Admission is free but donations are highly encouraged.
“We did something like this a couple of years ago for a local ministry here in Peterborough,” says Gauthier, a Peterborough native who performs Christian music and has headlined at churches on both sides of the border.
“If you can draw a crowd with music, but make it about something more than just the music, then you’re doing something for the greater good. This just fell into place.
“I met Washboard Hank at FRIENDS. I mentioned that David (Fisher) and I were talking about the idea to do this and Washboard was like ‘I’d love to be a part of something like that.’ He arranged for the McDonnel Street Gospel Quartet to take part. I can’t wait to hear what they’re going to bring to the table.”
Fisher has overseen FRIENDS Peterborough since it opened close to seven years ago at 283 George Street North. He explains the agency began at the prompting of the Selwyn Outreach Centre on the Lakefield highway just north of the city.
“It’s got Christian backing to it, but there’s nothing Christian when you walk in here other than the love and the help that you get,” explains Fisher, an East City native who served as chaplain for the Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Club for 29 years. He filled the same role for the Peterborough Petes for 14 seasons and, from 1971 to 1986, owned Ambassador Bible Bookstore on Water Street.
“We don’t preach to people (at FRIENDS). If we did that we’d lose half of our clientele. Selwyn Outreach Centre was doing humanitarian work in other countries and they thought ‘We should be doing something in our own city’. So that was why they started this place.
“They were looking for someone to be the face of FRIENDS. The pastor out there knew me. I was kind of between jobs at the time, so he asked me if I’d like to get involved and I said ‘Sure, I’d love to do it.'”
Fisher notes he and Gauthier planned to mount a similar fundraiser last year “but things didn’t work out.” Still, the idea was never far from their minds.
Key to their friendship is they’re both on the same page when it comes to the importance of the work FRIENDS does.
“David reached out on social media for some help with his furnace,” recalls Gauthier of their first meeting. “At the time I was doing HVAC work, so I went over to his house and fixed his furnace and we became friends. Ever since then I’ve been a part of his life, hanging out a lot at FRIENDS Peterborough. We just hit it off.”
“He’s aware of what we do and, more importantly, believes in the importance of what we do,” says Fisher of Gauthier.
VIDEO: Pete Gauthier and Washboard Hank
Pete Gauthier's FRIENDS Benefit Concert Promo
Hi Friends of Gauthier Music, Downtown Peterborough & FRIENDS! Please save the date of Sunday, August 26th at 7:00pm, that's the night of our benefit concert to raise funds for a worthy cause (and to have a great time doing it). Also featuring the talents of Washboard Hank & the McDonnel Street Gospel Quartet.
Posted by Gauthier Music on Sunday, August 12, 2018
What FRIENDS Peterborough does is multi-faceted: helping anyone who walks in the door with the filling out of government assistance forms, accessing housing resources, and acquiring medical or counselling help. In addition, free income tax return assistance is available two days a week year-round.
And then there are individual acts of kindness extended by Fisher and his wife Carol that, while most often unheralded, really speak to FRIENDS Peterborough’s mission.
“I went home the other day and I said to Carol ‘There was a guy in today who didn’t have any shoes or a shirt. All he had on was an old dirty pair of track pants,'” recounts Fisher.
“Carol went out that night and bought some shoes, socks, shorts, a nice muscle shirt, and some underwear. I brought it in the next day. I see the same guy walking up the street. I called his name and said ‘I’ve got something for you.’ I start pulling the stuff out of the bag. He was just so appreciative. To see the satisfaction on people’s faces is really something.”
Gauthier concurs.
“Just the other day a homeless guy comes in and asked ‘Do you mind if I wash my hands?’ Something as simple as ‘I need a sink to wash my hands.’ It gets to you. The folks in the community know that FRIENDS is there, even if it’s just to wash their hands. They come in for water, they come in for snacks … it’s a stopover that they know is a safe haven.
“David and Carol have a heart for those folks. I could tell you story after story, but it’s more than getting free tax returns done and all the rest. It’s a welcoming place — a safe place where folks who are in a rough way are welcome.”
As a musician, Gauthier feels strongly that he has a responsibility to share his talent to the benefit of others.
“This isn’t about Washboard Hank or myself. Folks will come out to hear music, but it’s about diverting the attention away from the entertainment and putting it onto something that’s a worthy cause.”
Besides donating his time and talent, Gauthier will sell copies of his new CD River Bend at the benefit with proceeds going to FRIENDS Peterborough.
For his part, Fisher says that while raising a few dollars will go a long way, the value of the event lies in the raising of an awareness of what the agency does and why it’s a vital lifeline to so many.
“I just want people to know about FRIENDS. That’s what I’m looking for.”
