Six years, $250,440.18 raised.
Who says one person can’t make a difference?
Elisha Banks started Music for the Mind with the goal of running one concert to serve as a fundraiser in support of mental health services in Chatham-Kent…and she’s never looked back.
For Banks, it came after a 50-day stay in the in-patient mental health unit at the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance.
“I was there and saw a need on the unit and wanted to do my part to ensure people who ended up in a mental health crisis had access to just the daily essentials – hygiene products, clothing, activity books,” she said. “I saw a need and wanted to do what I could to help that unit.”
Consider that first concert the sprout of a fundraising effort that “got planted out of my own mental health experience” for Banks. Well, that sprout has grown into an entire tree of fundraising support.
Today, as Music for the Mind is into its seventh fundraising cycle, Banks and her team of volunteers run anywhere between 11 to 14 different events or fundraising efforts “of all different shapes and sizes” each cycle. From concert events featuring local bands, to an annual beach volleyball tournament, to a Christmas online auction, to bottle and can drives, the funds flow in different ways.
“We just try to plan a variety of different fun fundraising events that get the community involved,” she explained.
The events are also havens for conversations about mental health,
“It should not be a taboo topic. You can talk about mental health; it’s OK to talk about it,” Banks said. “It’s as important to have those conversations about it (mental health) as your physical health.”
Through it all, Banks said the success if powered by volunteers and community support.
“We have a small team, but it is so strong. We’re like a family,” she said. “I have the same volunteers who show up event after event after event. They always step up. They are the backbone of Music for the Mind. Without them, these events don’t happen.”
The same goes for the support from the people of Chatham-Kent.
“Thanks to the community, the people, the businesses for making Music for the Mind possible; for making it possible to reach that milestone of $250,000 raised for mental health,” she said. “The bands…all the bands who have played at our events; they make it possible for us to continue the work we do. They give it their all.”
Banks said she believes the community sees the need for added supports for mental health services beyond what senior levels of government fund. And it’s a need that is not going away.
“It’s very obvious that the mental health crisis we are in right now is not getting better; it’s not going away. Since the pandemic, we’ve really seen an increase in mental health struggles. There’s an impact on people and the community when there is a lack of mental health funding and resources,” she said.
As mentioned, the six years of fundraising included the Covid pandemic. Banks said Music for the Mind had to quickly pivot to continue to raise funds in 2020 when the pandemic hit.
“We navigated fundraising through a pandemic by moving as many things as we could online, and planning our concert outdoors for Boonies Drive-In (near Tilbury),” she said. “The money was needed then more than ever. Everyone’s mental health was being impacted by the pandemic. I just knew there was going to be high demand for mental health services through the pandemic and afterwards.”
Music for the Mind raised $60,000 that year alone.
The organization initially raised funds for the Foundation of the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance. Several years ago, it transitioned to focus on Family Service Kent and its KIDS Team Program, as well as the Children’s Treatment Centre and Foundation of Chatham-Kent.
Banks looks back and is “blown away” by how far her project has come.
“I could never have imagined that Music for the Mind would still be up and operating going on seven years now,” she said. “Initially, I thought it was a one-time concert – raise money for mental health support in the community and raise awareness about the importance of mental health. But here we are still going strong and still having the amazing support from this community.”
