Manitoba singer/songwriter Steve Bell is well known for his willingness to partner with organizations to raise money for different causes.  This time around, Steve will be on stage at Buhler Hall in Gretna this Sunday, March 19th at 7:00 pm, with 100% of the funds raised going directly to Turkey and Syria relief, in partnership with the Canadian Food Grains Bank. 

According to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, over 47,000 people have died as a direct result of the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria February 6th. Thousands more who survived the quake are in urgent need of help. It's estimated at least 90,000 people were injured, with over 300,000 now homeless.

Bell noted it will just be him on stage for the solo performance, and he will be playing songs from his past, as well as music from his latest albums. He'll also be sharing some really new music, too.... songs that may potentially land on his next album, which he is getting ready to record very soon.

Steve mentioned earlier how the need is not only now, but will be for years to come after one of the greatest natural disasters in the history of Turkey and Syria hit not long ago. He joined the Morning Show Tuesday again to talk about how great the need truly is.

"It was just a simple request," shared Bell regarding how the free concert came together. "It was not really initially my idea. A friend of mine, actually Ashley Wiens from Seeds Church in Altona just phoned and said, "We'd like to put on a concert to raise money, and would you do it?' And I just said, yes." 

Bell also took a moment to reflect on his drive to participate in so many fundraising concerts for various organizations and efforts, something he has become known for in Southern Manitoba.

"Several years ago, Nancy and I were in Bangladesh, and it was about a year and a half after a major typhoon had wiped out a lot of the mainland, incredible damage," he explained. "The crisis was covered worldwide, everybody knew about it. Within a year and a half afterwards, the people on the ground there said the aftermath was worse than the event. Once the news media goes away, once the attention is drawn to other things in the news cycle, then the suffering starts. I never forgot that. After the major event we need to have longevity. We need to be able to understand whole systems and infrastructure can be wiped out for people."

Again, the concert is free, and donations will be accepted during the event at Buhler Hall.

You can listen to Morning Show Co-Host Michelle Sawatzky's conversation with Steve Bell below.