Going Virtual for 2021, Rock the 80s Concert Remains a Key Fundraiser for Bob Perks Cancer Assistance Fund

For fans of 80s rock, the Bob Perks Cancer Assistance Fund’s annual Rock the 80s concert is an event not to be missed. Last year’s concert, the eighth annual event, took place in February 2020, completely selling out the State Theatre and bringing the event’s lifetime total raised in the support of local cancer patients to approximately $100,000. 

“Given the fact that we had to cancel everything else because of COVID, we were so fortunate that we had Rock the 80s [last year],” Bob Perks Cancer Assistance Fund executive director Norma Keller says.

While this year’s Rock the 80s concert takes a virtual format, Keller explains that it’s more important than ever. 

“It’s extremely important,” she says of the event. “One of the major reasons is because Coaches versus Cancer is one of the major supporters of the Bob Perks Fund. Last year, they gave us $52,000 and that was the result of successful fundraising in 2019… but they had to cancel all of their events in 2020 and, consequently, what we received in January [2021] is substantially lower, approximately $10,000, so there’s a $40,000 difference right there in revenue for 2021. That makes this event very, very important to us in being able to serve cancer patients all through 2021.” 

The concert will be streamed 7-9 p.m. Saturday on the Bob Perks Cancer Assistance Fund Facebook page, facebook.com/bobperksfund, where viewers can also make donations directly via Facebook or through PayPal or Venmo.

The Bob Perks Cancer Assistance Fund helps cancer patients and their families with the financial burden of unpaid bills while the patient is undergoing treatment, paying for basic necessities such as rent, utilities, food, gas and more. Since 2006, the fund has distributed $2 million to thousands of patients throughout Centre County and beyond, into Blair, Clearfield and Huntingdon Counties.

Over the course of the pandemic, Keller says she and her team saw a greater need among patients for home heating and food. 

“Everyone pretty much maxed out what they could ask for,” she says.

“[2020] was a very, very challenging year,” she adds. “We made it through the year and I think what made the big difference for us financially is that we had far fewer cancer patient referrals, but that’s not a good thing. Cancer patients were very reluctant to go to doctors’ offices and hospitals and so on, so we had fewer referrals. Then, we had some unexpected sources of revenue that made it possible for us to get through the year OK.”

She and her team hope to raise at least $20,000 from the upcoming Rock the 80s concert, via both individual donations from online attendees and sponsors.

This year’s Rock the 80s concert will be hosted, as usual, by emcee Jeff Brown, who will appear live during the event, introducing bands’ recordings and updating viewers on funds raised. This year’s concert features four new bands and five returning bands, including Anchor & Arrow, Ballet Crisis, Cousin Eddie, McFishmillin, Frackwater Jack, Spider Kelly, The Boxing Oscars, The Long Afternoon and Velveeta. 

In the coming months, Keller and team hope to host additional fundraising events, but she clarifies that “it depends on the impact of COVID and the health care restrictions facing our community.” Other events currently in the works include a survivors event in Mill Creek on June 26; two “Night at the Races” events in Tyrone and Port Matilda, scheduled for Aug. 7 and Oct. 2, respectively; and the annual Bob Perks Sporting Clays Shoot at Shenocoy Sportsmen’s Club in Huntingdon, Sept. 18.

More information can be found at facebook.com/bobperksfund and http://www.bobperksfund.org.