Local Music Scene Raises $3000 For Franklin Food Pantry

On June 25th, 2016, local musicians in The Greater Milford Area Local Music Scene came together to raise much needed money for the Franklin Food Pantry at The Black Box located right next door to the pantry.

Co-organizer Bill Donovan explains why he and co-organizer Ray Auger decided to raise money for the pantry. "The Franklin Food Pantry does not receive funds from the state or town. They rely ultimately on us, the community, to help keep the shelves full."

Auger and Donovan decided to throw a concert with some of their friends to help raise money for this worthy cause. The two are founding members of Fringe Benefits and Charity Case respectively. These are fundraising event bands made up of different members from other local bands. 

Franklin Food Pantry

"You've heard of super groups, this is along the same lines with the exception that we don't share their money and fame, lol," explains Auger. "It's a chance for local musicians to collaborate with each other and raise a little money for various local causes. I had been doing Fringe Benefits for some time now with my acoustic partner Justin Redden. Recently I talked Bill into forming Charity Case with Matt Zajac. How it works is that we choose a cause, put a set list together, piece together the rest of the band and play a show."

Dan Feeley and South Street Six, all musicians with ties to the Franklin area, joined Fringe Benefits and Charity Case at The Black Box for a night of great music and dancing to benefit the Franklin Food Pantry. A small ticket price, some great raffles items, good friends and generous sponsor donations from Dean Bank, F&P Molla Inc, and Elemen-Tree House led to a grand total of $3000 raised from the night.

James puts that into perspective, "An average bag of groceries costs $18 to put together. That's about 167 bags of groceries that we were able to donate to those in our community in need. It feels good to do something we love as musicians while giving back. Music heals and music helps and we are looking forward to doing more great events like this."