The Sheepdogs Commit To $150K Charitable Pledge

By External Source

Saskatoon rock band The Sheepdogs will donate a minimum of $15,000 annually over the next 10 years to help support and highlight various local charities, with a particular focus on organizations that benefit Indigenous people in the community.

Some of The Sheepdogs’ planned donation money will also be used to help specific individuals who don’t have the financial means to access education and music lessons, with a focus on supporting Saskatoon’s BIPOC community.

The announcement commemorated the 10th anniversary of The Sheepdogs being the first unsigned artist to grace the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine, a contest which helped launch their career. It also coincided with the 10th anniversary of its first performance at the Saskatoon Jazz Festival, and the group members felt the time was right to show their support for the community that supported them when they were first starting out.

The Sheepdogs have placed 10 singles in the top 20 at Canadian rock radio, with seven of them reaching number one. “Keep On Loving You” from the band’s latest release, No Simple Thing, has enjoyed eight weeks in the top five. The Learn & Burn and The Sheepdogs albums both achieved platinum sales status. The band has been nominated for 10 Junos Awards and won four.

Samaritan talked with Sheepdogs bassist Ryan Gullen about the band’s charitable initiatives as well as what the group has been doing through the pandemic and its future plans.

Why did the band decide to launch a charitable initiative?
We wanted to do something that would impact the community that we’re from that would also allow us to use the platform that we have to highlight and directly address the needs within the community and take a piece of our success and give that back...  - Continue reading Steve McLean's interview with Gullen on the Samaritanmag website.