It’s been nearly two weeks since Christopher Cross resident Malcolm Pitre launched a fundraising initiative on Facebook called, Christopher Cross Requests, and the hype shows no sign of fading.
But why should it? Christopher Cross Requests has been providing group members with a steady diet of homegrown musical talent. More new videos are being added on a regular basis than one can follow.
For a promised donation to the Beaton family from Alma, group members get to nominate a friend or musician to sing a song and post a video of the performance on the page. There are instrumental performances and step-dancing on there, too. Performers have been busy doing, obviously, what they love to do.
When he launched the page, Pitre was hoping his initiative could raise $1,000. At a recommended $5 donation per request, he figured Christopher Cross Requests might get 200 requests.
At last count approximately $25,000 had been raised for a family that is battling serious health issues.
Well-known musicians are giving freely of their time in support of the cause. Lesser known singers and musicians are gaining courage and exposure by posting their videos upon request, and some musicians are simply volunteering to perform before being asked.
This made-in-Christopher Cross initiative is still largely a rural P.E.I. feel-good story, but it has attracted members, viewers, contributors, entertainers and attention from all over Canada and beyond. A group member’s inquiry about where fellow members were following from drew responses from all over Canada, Texas, Washington D.C. and western Australia.
According to numbers provided by Pitre, the group’s administrator, there are members from close to 30 countries. Many have some connection to P.E.I.
“This is awesome,” one member responded. “Let’s get the world together by singing!”
It seems to be doing just that.
The long and the short of it is a P.E.I.-based fundraising initiative is having far-reaching appeal, providing hours and hours of entertainment value and building a great sense of pride.
What a winter
A cold snap in late December into January caused sea ice to form quickly around P.E.I., a little earlier than normal this winter. Since then, though, temperatures have been up and down like a pump handle. What at one time looked to be shaping up as a winter of heavy ice, has levelled off and Coast Guard officials are now describing this as a normal winter for ice. What’s encouraging for fishermen is the Coast Guard expects the ice will move off in early April, which should have fishermen back on the water at regular time.
On the land, though, we could use a thicker blanket of snow both for winter outdoor fun and for a snowmelt to feed the land come springtime. Ultimately, though, we will make do with what we get.
We’ve had some extreme winters on Prince Edward Island. This one has been just plain strange.
