Not everything slows down in the summer in Tucson: Fundraising for children in foster care is heating up through two events to benefit the Arizona’s Children Association.
In true summer spirit, volunteer Kristi Davis is helping to coordinate the “Punk-N-Pie Eating Contest” along with a rummage sale, barbecue and music in support of Arizona’s largest provider of foster-care services. The event will begin at noon June 23 at the Spark Project Collective, 4349 E. Broadway.
“I am part of a bigger organization that is constantly trying to think of out-of-the-box ideas to grab people’s attention and bring them in so they are excited to attend and learn about the causes we support. I thought of the movie ‘Stand By Me’ and its pie-eating contest and thought that would be so much fun,” said Davis, a member of the Arizona Hardcore Community, which promotes punk and hardcore music and helps raise funds for nonprofits.
For many of its events, the community uses the nonprofit Spark Project Collective, a tattoo and body-piercing shop that also provides a venue for live music, an art gallery and a retail shop with all proceeds going to charities for children with disabilities.
Davis, 39, who plays drums in the band Cicada, said some people are surprised to learn of the connection between the hardcore music scene and charity. She said the hardcore music community and many local bands, like The Sindicate, are very involved with social issues, children’s organizations, homeless affairs and veterans’ assistance.
“People are taken aback. The cliché for hardcore is chains and safety pins in your nose and Mohawk haircuts, but we are really a community — like a big family — that is helping to take care of the larger local community. We do that by having fun events with music,” said Davis, a University of Arizona research administrator.
The mother of five, who spent years in the Arizona foster-care system, understands the challenges that foster children face and says she is excited to help the Arizona’s Children Association through the hardcore music community.
“We all need support. We all need to feel like we can fall back on someone else at difficult times in our lives, and having that safety net allows you to have more freedom and to become a better person. You are happier knowing that society isn’t always out to get you. You are a healthier person knowing there is love out there. You need to know there are resources and people who care and will help you,” Davis said.
She hopes the rummage sale and pie-eating contest will net donations of at least 200 full-sized hygiene products and items such as board games, backpacks, crayons, markers and other art supplies; and baby items including outlet covers, childproof safety latches, blankets, sleepers, diapers, wipes, socks and onesies.
In-kind donations and monetary contributions through fundraisers organized by individuals, groups and businesses directly impact more than 15,000 Southern Arizona children and families who utilize services through the nonprofit association, says Dayna Gabler, chief development officer.
The association’s spectrum of programs includes not only foster care and adoption, but behavioral health and trauma/crisis response, family education, family preservation and reunification, kinship services and young-adult services, such as the Thrive Mentor Program, which provides support for foster youths “aging out” of the system.
“These fundraisers are phenomenal, and the outreach and awareness they generate about our programs and the kids we serve who need foster homes and mentors make them even more important,” said Gabler.
She emphasized that Thrive receives no state funding, necessitating public support to recruit, train and retain mentors.
Big Heart Coffee recognizes the value of the program, and owner Scott Shaw is offering Tucsonans the chance to do the same while enjoying their morning Joe: Shaw will donate all tips and monetary donations received throughout the month of June to the Thrive program.
“This program focuses on teaming up foster teens who are aging out of the system with mentors to help them adjust to the real world, as it were. ... So these people are trying to make a difference in the community. There is plenty of bad news out there and it is always nice to be cognizant that there are people trying to reach out and help others in need who are struggling,” said Shaw.
