Award-winning musician, actor and author Jann Arden will headline a gala concert for Surrey-based Options Community Services this fall.
The "Building Hope" benefit event, set for Saturday, Sept. 28 at Bell Performing Arts Centre, will also feature music by Indigenous folk duo Twin Flames and Surrey-based band Ranj Singh & The Discriminators. Tickets are sold for $200 and up on the website BuildingHopeConcert.ca, with four levels of seating available including VIP packages priced at $1,000.
Broadcaster Nira Arora will emcee the concert, to support Options' initiatives to build affordable housing in the area.
"We are a non-profit registered charity providing social services primarily in Surrey, Delta, White Rock and Langley," explains a post on options.bc.ca. "We believe in helping people help themselves."
A multi-dimensional Canadian talent, the Calgary-born Arden has long captivated audiences with heartfelt music including hit songs "Insensitive," "Could I Be Your Girl" and "Hangin' By a Thread," among others, starting in the mid-1990s.
The Sept. 28 event in Surrey will also feature a live auction led by Howard Blank, CEO of Point Blank Entertainment.
In January, Options opened its Habitat@81st affordable-housing project on King George Boulevard, and is now planning another housing project with a new Entrepreneurs of Options fundraiser launched in tandem with the Sept. 28 benefit concert.
"This will be a one-of-a-kind event that will change lives in the Surrey community,” said Christine Mohr, CEO of Options Community Services.
“We are consistently making an effort to find creative ways to meet the vital needs in our communities," Mohr added. "We are incredibly grateful to our generous donors and partners who are providing funds, and donating their time, to make this amazing evening possible."
Sponsors of the Building Hope gala concert include The City of Surrey, BM Group, Surrey Firefighters Charitable Foundation, Apcon Group, Coast Capital, Peterson Group, Isle Of Mann Property Group, RBC Wealth Management and Dominion Securities, along with media partners Black Press Media and Bell Media.
