Music for Good: Gather the Guitars to raise funds for Hbg nonprofit

Connecting through music has long been a way to bring people from all walks of life together, and this weekend’s Gather the Guitars event is a perfect composition of community, entertainment and fundraising to help drive more opportunities for Gather the Spirit for Justice.

Gather the Spirit, an Allison Hill-based nonprofit centered on building community, is hosting its third annual “Gather the Guitars” event Sunday afternoon at The Abbey Bar, this time headlined by Vince Rollins, Matt Jameson and Rigo Giorgini.

Organizer and board member Brian DeBease said the organization is grateful to the musicians who are “all doing it for free — they’ve all donated their time and (are) great acoustic musicians.”

Each will play for about an hour, and guests will also have opportunities to participate in silent auctions, 50/50 raffles, imbibe and dine on appetizers and strengthen fellowship.

“It brings me so much joy, anytime I can help anybody, especially in the surrounding areas,” said Harrisburg guitarist Matt Jameson, who also played this event last winter. “It’s going to be a lot of fun working with Rigo and Vincent again.”

Gather the Spirit, which has been operating in the area since the 1970s (with a brief hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic), has been helping countless folks over the years, but especially since the group shifted gears in 2023 with a renewed zeal for meeting people with what they need right now.

What started as an effort to provide breakfast for a few people on Saturday mornings became a weekly meal for nearly 150 guests, said Art Williams, vice president of programming.

“We were averaging about 12 people the first three months,” Williams said, adding that, at that point, the weekly Common Grounds meal was mostly just coffee, hot cocoa, bananas and English muffins.

The community quickly started coming together, and in November 2024, one of the weekly community breakfasts drew nearly 200 folks to the doors at First Church of the Brethren.

“Word got out, and we got our act together,” Williams said, “and now it’s pancakes, grits, sausage and eggs when we can afford them.”

The programming at Common Grounds has expanded to include helping individuals register and pay for state identification cards, and the organization even offers English as a second language classes for people who speak Spanish and French/Creole as their primary language.

Most weeks, there are four classrooms operating, and in recent months they’ve been able to help guests who speak Arabic, or guests from Nigeria and Haiti, as well.

“A lot of times, I work the front door, and I’ve been working enough to know how to say hello in their languages to greet them,” Williams said. “Every week, we have somebody hesitantly come up who just really needs something, or they need that state ID, and I just love the look on that person’s face when I can bring them upstairs to get a cup of coffee, get them situated with materials to move forward.”

He also has helped some folks get situated with what they need to order their birth certificates from other states when he can.

“We can afford seven state IDs per week,” Williams said, “and we give them directions on how to walk to the DMV, two miles from Common Grounds, and tell them to come on back and take a photo with us when they’re done.”

“We have a small budget,” DeBease said. “We’re trying to raise money to provide these services. They need a birth certificate so they can get housing, government subsidies, things to get on their way.”

He added that these IDs also are crucial for helping people secure employment.

“We try to create relationships with other organizations in the community that provide services, leaning on others” to collaborate with those that are more knowledgeable with different needs, DeBease said, using the example of someone who might be experiencing homelessness and needs a place to live, or helping someone find rehabilitation services.

Gather the Guitars is Gather the Spirit’s biggest fundraiser of the year, DeBease said, and raised a little over $4,000 from last year’s event.

“We’d love to raise $5,000 to $10,000” this time, he said, adding that all the money raised will go directly to the organization’s programming and helping folks get more IDs, literature to run ESL classes and provide food.

IF YOU GO
When: Sunday, Jan. 19 at 3 p.m.; doors open at 2:30 p.m.
Where: The Abbey Bar at Appalachian Brewing Co., 50 N. Cameron St., Harrisburg
Tickets: Tickets are $25 to attend and are all ages (guests younger than 18 must be accompanied by an adult); tickets can be purchased at the door or online https://www.eventbrite.com/e/gather-the-guitars-tickets-1083037487279

Get involved: If you’re interested in learning more about Gather the Spirit for Justice, a 501(c)3, VP Art Williams says the best thing to do is to show up to the organization’s Common Grounds Coffee event on Saturdays from 9-11 a.m. at First Church of the Brethren, 219 Hummel St., Harrisburg, or email gtsfjinfohbg@gmail.com

Find more at https://theburgnews.com/news/music-for-good-gather-the-guitars-showcase-to-raise-funds-for-harrisburg-nonprofit