Lacombe native and country singer Gord Bamford continues to give. Bamford recently donated $130,000 to children’s hospitals and charities across Canada.
He gave $50,000 to KidSport Canada, Make-A-Wish Foundation (Northern Alberta), Ronald McDonald House Central Alberta, Alberta Music Education Foundation, the Boys and Girls Club of Wetaskiwin and the Clive Resource Centre.
Bamford will be kicking off his spring tour this month by donating an additional $80,000 to children’s hospitals across Canada.
Since creating the Gord Bamford Charitable Foundation back in 2008, Bamford has generated $2 million thanks to an annual charity golf classic he hosts in Lacombe every summer. Those monies have gone to support youth and include or involve music, education, health care, sports and multi-use facilities across Canada.
However, children’s hospitals are also a priority for Bamford and he’s quick to recognize music is a form of therapy for children who are ill.
“Music has that special power to take a child away from whatever they might be experiencing at that moment in time,” he said in a release.
“I’ve seen it first-hand on my visits to children’s hospitals over the years,” he said.
“I’m so grateful to be in the position to continue to help support such worthwhile organizations and hospitals all across Canada.”
Bamford will be visiting each hospital location to present the facility with a $10,000 cheque from his Foundation. He will be presenting to the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation in Calgary on Feb. 19th, as well as a hospital in Winnipeg, along with Ontario hospitals in Hamilton, Toronto, London and Kingston. One other Canadian hospital is a recipient of Bamford’s generosity. The IWK Health Centre Foundation from Halifax has received a $10,000 for their music therapy program.
Bamford, is a 19-time Canadian Country Music Association award winner and two-time Juno Award nominee. He recently won the 2014 Male Artist of the Year, Single of the Year, Country Music Program for Gord Bamford: Christmas in Canada (CMT). Bamford was also honoured to win the Country Music Association’s Global Artist of the Year.
-Maetche