HOPE 4 Kids 2022

Saturday August 27, 2022 7PM @ CITY DIGGERS Wollongong

FUNDRAISING CONCERT EVENT – SATURDAY AUGUST 27, 2022 7PM @ CITY DIGGERS WOLLONGONG Each year the HOPE4Kids team decides with Graeme, what the focus event for awareness and fundraising will be. We usually go with something goofy that will engage community interest every couple of years (e.g. previously 24 Hour Marathon Drumming and Table Tennis events, a 6-Hour Backwards Walk and last year a multi-colouring of Graeme’s hair, culminating with a complete shave). On the alternate year we tend to do something entertaining that utilizes Graeme’s music and performance experience, which a couple of years ago was the pre-launch of his latest album ‘Better Now’.

2022 Fundraiser coincides with remember Keith Green

This year 2022 coincides with the 40th Anniversary of Keith Green’s death in 1982. – Keith was a child prodigy signed by Decca Records, and a multi-award winning gospel music artist and prophetic teacher who was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2001. Keith was just shy of his 29th birthday when he and two of his children died along with 9 others in a light plane crash.

In light of all of this, we present a ‘Keith Green 40th Anniversary Tribute Concert’ as this year’s HOPE4Kids Fundraiser. The Wollongong Concert will be held @ City Diggers in the CBD with a Sydney Concert yet to be announced. Here following is the early announcement details with a general ticket booking website link for BOOKINGS WHICH ARE ESSENTIAL due to the size of the venue.

HERE IS THE DIRECT CONCERT BOOKING LINK

Graeme discovered Keith Green when his friend Mark Matthews gave him the 1977 ‘For Him Who Has Ears to Hear’ album on vinyl. With Mark and mates Rob Sackett and Peter Sharp, ‘Cornerstone’ became known as a Keith Green ensemble. After the conclusion of the ‘Cornerstone’ season, Mark and Graeme did a few more functions, using Keith’s music which at the time had wide commercial appeal. With Todd Fishkind and Randy Stonehill, Keith had penned the song that Marcia Hines made a number one hit in Australia in the mid-seventies ‘Until Your Love Broke Through’.

Keith Green, the inspiration

Having spent a painstaking December 1977 night learning to play and perform a lesser known but complex Keith Green song, called ‘Summer Snow’, recorded by Matthew Ward (2nd Chapter of Acts) , Gordon and Graeme decided to team up as a Christian music and youth event promotional duo (eventually known as ‘Waves Ministries’). After leaving school, they started performing in schools, shopping malls and public performance venues all over Australia and eventually overseas, mostly using Keith Green’s music alongside a growing catalogue of originals. They would both say that they were discipled and taught how to minister the gospel by watching and learning from Keith and his contemporaries including Keith’s wife Melody, Winkie Pratney, Dean Sherman, Buck and Annie Herring and more.

In 1990, God granted Gordon and Graeme a life-long dream to spend time with Melody Green @ Last Days Ministries in Lindale, Texas and be invited by Melody to sing Keith’s ‘O Lord You’re Beautiful’ to and with her.

Work and ministry opportunities over the years meant that other than the blessing of being able to perform together every now and then, all the while continuing to use Keith’s music for ministry, Graeme took the opportunity at various times over those years, to work with a variety of other musicians to perform occasional FULL Keith Green Tribute Shows. Including the two he did with Gordon in Sydney for the 20th anniversary, Graeme has performed 14 such shows since 1986. The bonus in recent years is that Graeme has returned to Wollongong and has performed Keith’s music regularly in his church ministry, two or three complete Keith Music and Ministry church services with his old ‘Cornerstone’ buddies and a plethora of smaller ministry gigs with Gordon.

So, it is based upon that history, and the agreement between Graeme, Gordon, Peter Sharp, Rob Sackett, Gordon’s son and Graeme’s God-son Kyle Barr and Graeme’s wife Karen, that the decision to use the 40th Anniversary Tribute Concerts to fund raise for our beautiful kids with life challenging afflictions was made.

PLEASE NOTE: Because this is a partnership event for Gordon and Graeme, we will be sharing the funds raised, with ‘Hope and Future Project’ which supports 28 orphan children through a Boarding School in Uganda.

You can find out more history and context by reading further down this page, AND we will soon be updating and re-opening our HOPE4Kids Facebook Group Page with developments as they emerge, but for now here’s a quick summary.

OUR KIDS – We have developed relationships over the past few years with children who had / have uncertain futures. We raise a little money for their families to deal with medication and some specialist requirements BUT most of the monies raised goes towards helping find a cure for what are essentially, childhood diseases without a known physical cure.

Beau McClinton, our 5 year old superhero from Canberra suffers from Ohtahara Syndrome. This is a form of epilepsy causing extreme numbers of full body tremors and fits DAILY.

Michael Bereznai is a brave survivor of Neuroendocrine Hyperplasia of Infancy (NEHI) which affects the lungs and breathing capacity of its victims, and with that comes obvious challenges. It is a rare condition only recognized in 2005.

Airlee Podmore is a very special little person and it would take too many paragraphs to share the story after story of her bravery and belief. Airlee is only 10 years old and a couple of years ago started losing her hair through a condition known as ‘Alopecia Areata’. There is no known cure for this auto-immune disease that causes hair loss to varying degrees, and which leaves these children particularly vulnerable to all sorts of challenges. According to experts, Airlee has a challenging stream of AA.

And last but never least, we continue to support the foundation set up to find a cure for our little mate and first ‘HOPE4Kids’ icon, Chloe Saxby. Gone from this world in November 2020, way too early (like Keith), BUT still fully in our hearts, we continue to honour Chloe and her family by raising awareness and funds to find a cure for ‘Vanishing White Matter Disease’. You can find out more about this @savingchloesaxby.

Graeme’s Music is also a Contributor – 50% of album sales is dedicated to the HOPE4Kids Project during Corrimal Community Church’s annual fundraiser each year. Graeme’s first anthology of songs from 1982-2007 is also available for digital download and 50% of all sales is dedicated to the HOPE4Kids Project during fund raising event seasons. BOTH releases as described ascribe 20% of all sales to HOPE4Kids at ALL other times.

Corrimal Community Church NSW, Heartland Ministries Incorporated (registered Charity covering body) and the Better Now Album, are proud ongoing sponsors of the HOPE4Kids project. If you, too, would like to support our kids and their families you can do one or more of the following;

• Book a ticket to join us at our August 27th Keith Green Tribute Wollongong Concert,
• purchase a Better Now album or
• Donate ANYTIME by clicking on the BUTTON below. DON’T FORGET to identify your deposit as ‘H4K’ or ‘HOPE4Kids’ if it fits the description of your donation.

We hope you can join us on our HOPE4Kids journey this year!