CORTEZ – Cortez restauranteur Bob Slicker, owner of Slicker’s Eatery, is once again gathering members of the Anna Maria Island Rotary Club and the community to raise money with a Concert for Peace. The second annual event is being held to help the people of Ukraine whose lives have been upended by the ongoing war with Russia.
Slicker, who became passionate about helping the people of Ukraine after watching the war begin to unfold in 2022, vowed to do whatever he could to help get supplies to the people who needed them desperately. His first Concert for Peace, held in June of 2022, raised more than $50,000, 100% of which went to supplies such as medical needs and refrigerators.
The second annual Concert for Peace will take place Saturday, June 10 at The Center of Anna Maria Island. The concert will be free and open to the public and feature musical acts the Eric Von Band and Trevor Bystrom, with money being raised through sales of food, drinks, raffle items, t-shirts and sponsorships. The AMI Rotary Club will take the proceeds and work with their Rotary partner in Poland to purchase supplies and get them into the areas of Ukraine where they are most needed.
“I went over there and saw first-hand how difficult these people have it due to the war,” Slicker said. These are just normal people who get up and go to work just like you and I, then one day their lives are upended. I went to apartment buildings where not only are multiple people sharing community refrigerators, but often multiple families have to share one shelf of a fridge.”
“The Rotary can be trusted to get the job done,” AMI Rotary President Jim McDaniel said. “There are only two seats in the United Nations that don’t belong to individual countries. One is the Red Cross and the other is Rotary.”
Sponsors are still signing on, so there is no complete list yet, but in addition to Slicker’s and the Rotary, Painting with a Twist will hold another “Painting with a Purpose” event at Slickers on June 4. More fundraising events are anticipated to be announced on Facebook in the coming weeks.
For information on becoming a sponsor, making a financial donation or the Concert for Peace, visit the Campaign for Ukraine Facebook page or email campaignforukraineami@gmail.com.