Toronto jazz pianist Eddie Bullen will serve as the music director for an upcoming charity gala in support of a hospital in Jamaica.
The virtual event held by St. Ann Medical Outreach on Sunday, April 24, will feature a lineup of Canadian, international and Caribbean performers. The proceeds will be used to restore and advance a full-care hospital facility in the Alexandria community in St. Ann, Jamaica.
The Eddie Bullen Band will be accompanying live performers including Liberty Silver, Belinda Brady, Justine Owen, Latoya Mullings, Andrew Adridge and Michael Arthurs.
“It is always a wonderful feeling to be able to lend your talent and expertise to an event like this to assist in the fundraising for the health initiative for any community in the Caribbean, especially Jamaica,” says Bullen, who moved to Toronto in 1980 from his original home of Grenada.
“As an immigrant to Canada, the Jamaican community rallied around me and mentored me in many ways,” he adds. “They have embraced me in many of my endeavours and have supported me throughout the years.”
The mission of St. Ann Medical Outreach is to help hospitals in the Caribbean and to support Canadian health-care students with a Caribbean background. The organization raises money to support the delivery of medical services, equipment, supplies and infrastructure to the Caribbean, initially focusing on the community hospital of Alexandria.
The upcoming gala features several performers with Jamaican roots, including Liberty Silver, Belinda Brady and Latoya Mullings.
“[They] have been trailblazers in Canada and have always been supportive of initiatives like this for the Caribbean community,” says Bullen. “We all have Caribbean roots and have always championed organizations that reach out back to the home country to give a helping hand in any way that we can.”
Tickets for this event are available at stannmedicaloutreach.com.