the generosity of the basement reloaded

Here at the Associaçāo we are very grateful for all of our wonderful Community Partners who support the work of Somos Esperança on an ongoing basis. This month we are particularly pleased to highlight the generosity of The Basement Reloaded a great Algarvian Band who over the past four years have raised in excess of €60,000 which they have distributed to a wide range of charities in the Algarve Region. Following their successful gig on the 15th August we were thrilled to receive a donation of over €2000 as a result of the generosity of the band and their loyal supporters. 

The band made up of Ian (rhythm guitar lead), Tim (lead guitar), Sydney (bass), Derek (vocals) and Mark (drummer) play music spanning the 60’s to the 90’s covering a mix including anything from the Rolling Stones to The Doors to the pop group Aztec Camera. 

Drummer Mark explained their approach to donating generally and specifically how money was raised for the Associaçāo:  “We are always happy to support charities in the Algarve and we make sure that anyone we do support is officially registered.

In the case of our gig last week over the course of three hours we played to an audience of about 120 people - made up of those who were listening to the music  directly from Dabi’s Tapas Bar (our official host for the event) as well as customers listening from the surrounding bars and restaurants.

​Direct contributions from our audience came to €700 and the band suggested that I have my beard shaved off in an auction that raised an additional €300 from the audience. The band then directly matched the amount the audience had raised bringing the total donation to just over €2000”.

(Mark before, during and after his beard was auctioned!)

Co-Founder of Somos Esperança Patricia Guerreiro warmly welcomed the donation: “It's very heartening for us when our local community show up with such strong support for our work. But it's also great to know that The Basement Reloaded have raised so much over the past four years not just for us but for so many charities in the region. This money as with any donations we receive goes 100% to providing:

• Daily hot home cooked meals for over 50 local people suffering temporary financial hardship or homelessness
• Access to clothing and furniture for those in need
• Connection to social and medical services 
• Laundry and personal hygiene services for the homeless

​Details of forthcoming gigs by The Basement Reloaded can be found via their Facebook page so please do follow them and support their great music. You can get a taste of last weeks gig in the short video below and remember we are always looking for new volunteers and of course ongoing donations to make sure we can continue to provide for those in need in Olhao.