S.I.N. Kids music school

"LOVE YOU GUYS! BRINGING COMMUNITY BACK TOGETHER!"

Those were the last words of the night from Q-Mike (Quentin McGie) - singer of RC Sindicate and founder of the My Backyard block party music festival. The festival originally started 10 years ago, as a backyard birthday party, bringing local musicians and talent together. This quickly grew to a huge block party requiring permits to block off the whole street. The festival is free and family friendly creating a place for local talent to express themselves in a safe and supportive environment. This opened up the idea for a bigger purpose..... the next generation of artists......the kids.

3 years ago Q-Mike and his partner Elysia North started Sin River, and the S.I.N (Strength In Numbers) kids music program. Creating a safe place for kids to freely express themselves through music & arts, and learn the fundamentals of the industry through mentoring while learning life skills. This became critical for the mental health of our youth and quickly had others interested.

The My BackYard event has been self funded for years, and this was the first year that Sin River, together in partnership with underground venue 2 Doors Down Edmonton, along with the growing community support, had recovered a portion of the money invested in the festival. Together this money was going back into the youth program to develop growing artists and give them the skills they need to succeed.

Unfortunately the success was quickly damaged by local theft. One of the big costs to the event is the rental of the stage sound equipment, which was securely locked up waiting to be returned the next day. Sadly some people decided to cut all the locks and steal a significant amount of cables for the copper content. This theft ended up costing the program all the funds raised, and then some to replace. The theft in the city of copper has become a big part of a larger criminal enterprise and Q-Mike and Sin River fell victim. All the good they did, money raised, and love for bringing community together went out the window in a blink of an eye. And now this event along with the future of the S.I.N kids music school existence is being threatened due to the financial burdens this theft left on the program.

The goal was to bring community together. Support. Encourage. Create a stage and a place to showcase your talents and find new connections. Friends helping Friends.

Now they need YOUR help. After all the community support Q-Mike and his team have given Edmonton, he needs to recover the lost funds in order to continue his efforts in developing the next generation of local artists. 

This is where you come in.....By donating any amount, your contribution will have a huge impact on the future of our seasoned youth that have spent the last 3 years working hard with this program. As well as the many other youths that have shown interest who were waiting for Sin River to expand. By sharing and spreading the word we will rise up against the petty theft in this city and show them we as a community can't be defeated. We will stand together and persevere through all odds.... Strength In Numbers! Lets bring awareness to this cause, to the kids, to the future of local Edmonton artists and community!

Lets stand together.