The following is a guest blog by Zoe Peled, Community Outreach Specialist of Vancouver-based charity Music Heals:

It’s a familiar practice for most of us: the end of the Monday-to-Friday stretch arrives. We shift into weekend mode, and head to our favourite haunts for food, beverages, music, and general merriment. It is not uncommon that gatherings progress to bars, concerts, clubs, or venues. What happens when we incorporate a non-profit component into this social ritual? Enter: A Night Out For Music Heals.

A Night Out For Music Heals, the first major initiative of the year for Canadian charity Music Heals, invites bars, venues, nightclubs, pubs, breweries, and more to come together on one night to support the organization. Participating businesses support #NightOut4MH by donating $1 per patron from their cover charge, offering a flat donation, or highlighting a feature drink or menu item (and donating partial proceeds from sales).

Music Heals works to raise awareness about music therapy, and funds programs across Canada. The Music Heals Charitable Foundation supports a wide range of music therapy services to communities in BC and across Canada. Funding is directed to increased access to music therapy for patients in children’ hospitals, seniors’ centres, palliative care, AIDS & HIV programs, at-risk youth, rehabilitation, bereavement support, and more.

A Night Out For Music Heals 2017 will take place on Saturday, March 4, and kicks off a month of activations for Music Therapy Awareness Month. Music Heals is aiming to work with more than 100 businesses across Canada, and are still waiting for participants to come on board from arts and culture hubs Toronto and Montreal.

Money raised in each province stays in that province, giving participants the opportunity to engage with local initiatives and programs. A unique fundraising event model, #NightOut4MH encourages cross- Canada business relations, is formatted to permit businesses of all sizes and scales to participate, and simultaneously celebrates several components of the diverse Canadian music industry.

For more information, visit www.musicheals.ca, email the organization via nightout@musicheals.ca, or follow via social: musicheals_ca.