We all know there are people who complain about problems. And then there are people who do something about problems.
World-class Toronto saxophonist Dave McLaughlin is definitely in the “do something” category when it comes to the tough economic times many Canadians are now enduring.
In fact, McLaughlin has been devoted to doing something for those in need ever since he emigrated to Canada from his birthplace of Jamaica in 1991 and became a Canadian citizen.
Today his life is divided between helping those in need and his career as a working musician — he fronts the Dave McLaughlin Band in Toronto and has travelled around the world opening for the likes of the late, great Ray Charles.
He knows that no one person can change the world.
But drawing on the lessons he learned about charity while growing up in Montego Bay and attending the local parish church with his family every Sunday, McLaughlin came to understand that he could make life a little better for those in need one at a time.
To this day, he remembers being taught at church that for those with the ability and resources to help, acts of charity are not merely optional, or done for personal aggrandizement, but rather are a commandment from God because, “blessed are those who consider the poor.”
So McLaughlin regularly holds fundraising gospel concerts in and around the GTA to raise funds for worthy causes, as well as to provide financial support to deserving students in need who are pursuing a post-secondary education.
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He also donates a portion of his CD sales to charity.
The first time I saw McLaughlin play the saxophone — and he’s an amazing musician — he was performing with his band at the launch of one of his CDs, where the proceeds went to the Toronto Foundation for Student Success, the charitable foundation of the Toronto District School Board.
I asked him why he had chosen that charity.
“Because every child can grow up to become anything — a doctor, a lawyer or a criminal. We have to help them make the right choices.”
He feels the same way about helping people facing hard times — that it can help them make the right choices in their lives.
McLaughlin’s latest concert — to raise funds to support and help feed the homeless in Durham Region — will be held this Saturday at 7:00 p.m. at the Refuge City Pentecostal Church in Ajax, located at 10 Fuller Rd.
Tickets cost $30 and can be purchased at the door or by contacting 647-655-7811.
The concert — which McLaughlin is organizing with the help of Ainsley Edwards, a retired business executive — will feature performances by McLaughlin along with singers, pianists and gospel preachers who have volunteered to participate.
I will be the master of ceremonies.