Many fundraisers for nonprofit agencies in Cherokee County are considered a success when taking in anywhere from $3,000 to $20,000. Rare indeed is the event that can match what Relay for Life once did when, under the leadership of volunteer extraordinaire Barbara Hughes and the late Rod Springer, the annual event was regularly raising six figures in the 2000s.
Then came an economic downtown, followed by COVID-19, which sadly forced one event after another to be shut down. While most of the bigger events have since sprang back to life, Relay for Life every May was gone, just like the Heritage Walk & Festival and the Arts, River & Music Festival.
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Thankfully, in 2023, our county was blessed with Murphy Music & Brews, a new fundraiser put together by Travis Ellis of Shepherd’s Men and Patrick Keegan, owner of Buck Bald Brewing in both Copperhill, Tenn., and downtown Murphy. In its first year, the event amazingly raised about $147,000 – and for a special cause.
For more than 50 years, the Shepherd Center has provided world-renowned care in traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, along with groundbreaking care for patients with multiple sclerosis. Created in 2007, the SHARE Military Initiative was begun to stand in the gap of conventional care for veterans suffering from traumatic brain injuries along with post-traumatic stress disorder.
The Shepherd Center’s SHARE program consists of collaborative and long-term care, working to integrate veterans into civilian society. Even though it’s expensive, the service is provided at no cost to the veterans.
If you bought a ticket to the event, enjoyed a tasty beverage and made a donation, you already know it was worth it for a fun night out with great music from nationally known artists like Cracker and Chuck Mead. However, you can also feel good knowing that every dollar raised from Murphy Music & Brews is going to help the veterans receiving services at Shepherd’s Men. We salute you.
Details: Visit shepherdsmen.com and murphymusicandbrews.com.
– Publisher David Brown