Concert proceeds donated to HOPE for Veterans

“Coming out of COVID, we had a lot of musicians that just wanted to play, so we were looking to put on some kind of music festival,” Kelyn said. “We ran across Lake Barkley and we decided to have a benefit. We threw ideas around on that and we came up with the idea to benefit homeless veterans. My wife, Rachel, suggested we focus on the homeless veterans center over in Hopkinsville. Last year, we raised $6,200 and we had some expenses. We built the stage with the intent that that stage would continue to raise money for veterans programs.

“We ended up spending around $4,800 on all kinds of things they needed – microwaves, refrigerators, coffee makers, towels, you name it; anything somebody coming off the street might need, because those guys over there (at the center) typically come with nothing in their pocket,” Kelyn said. “That was pretty successful, so we decided we were going to do it again and we made a solid partnership with the VFW this year to help us out because being a non-profit organization, that’s the way we want to keep it. Everybody (performing at the concert) plays for free, everybody (attending the show) comes in for free and we accept donations. Most of the donations and the funds that we’ve raised have come from either private donations or many of the businesses we’ve partnered with that sponsored the event.”

The HOPE for Veterans program to assist homeless former service members was announced by HOPE Calloway at a VFW ceremony on Nov. 11.

“When they announced (HOPE for Veterans) last Veterans Day, I grabbed Ryan a couple days later and said, ‘Tell me more about this,’” Kelyn said. “After we talked, I talked with Rachel and we decided that this year, this is where all our funds are going to go because it sounded like the program needed the help and something to get them going, and we felt like we could make a contribution.”

“(HOPE for Veterans) had honored one of our veterans (Flenoy Barrow) by actually naming their tiny house (on Payne Street) after him, and of course, one of our members who wants to remain anonymous is the one that actually made the donation of land and (construction) in order to get this going,” Buchanan said. “So when we were talking about the concert, it was a no-brainer. HOPE for Veterans was exactly where we needed to put the money.”

“Our mission for Music Strikes Back for Veterans is to support homeless veterans in western Kentucky,” Kelyn added. “We’re not tied to any one specific organization, but this year, we saw that the best organization to benefit from it was HOPE for Veterans.”

“We appreciate the partnership and the donation to HOPE Calloway for the HOPE for Veterans program because all of that money is just going to go straight back into helping veterans in our community,” said HOPE Calloway Executive Director Nathan Carter. “Whether it’s housing them here at the tiny house or working with veterans on an outreach basis, that all takes money. This event that (the Browns have) designed to help veterans in our community really is staying right here with the people in Calloway County this year, which is great.”

Kelyn said the concert had nine main sponsors and about 50 total contributors in addition to donations received the night of the concert from attendees. Rachel said they were also grateful to Lake Barkley State Resort Park for allowing them to use the facility and covering the liability insurance that came along with that. Buchanan said many of the sponsors contributed directly to HOPE Calloway, while other sponsors and individuals wrote checks to the VFW for the post to transfer over to HOPE Calloway.