Benevolence of: Chris Ramsay

Longtime readers may remember that friend of the blog Dennis Schick (Assistant Editor of The Linking Ring magazine) used to run a series about the "Benevolence of Magic."

Before his passing in 2020, Dennis had documented the benevolent acts by the following Canadians:

• Magicana for My Magic Hands, Senior Sorcery [The Linking Ring (v92, #12)],
  
• the Tony Eng Youth Fund initiative [The Linking Ring (v92, #12)], 
• Marien Hopman and "Busking for Hunger" [Linking Ring (Vol 94, #2)],
• Mike D'Urzo fundraising for "Dental Volunteers for Israel" and volunteering at functions for children with developmental challenges [Linking Ring (Vol 94, #2)],
• Magic Mike Segal for benevolence born out of Sorcerers Safari Magic and Performance Camp [Linking Ring (Vol 94, #2)],
  
• Matt DiSero and David Peck in their effort to reduce the incidence of malaria via "Mosquitos Suck" [Linking Ring (Vol 94, #2)],
•  Jeff Christensen's Celebrate the Child Foundation [Linking Ring (v95,12)], and
• John Kaplan's Fundraising Magic program [Linking Ring (v95,12)]. 
  

It's time to build on Dennis' work.  This is the first of an irregular series titled "Benevolence of" with a focus on Chris Ramsay.  This series will focus on sustained fundraising efforts that span an extended period of time beyond a single show fundraiser.

 

From the May 2nd Facebook post by Chris Ramsay:

Thanks in part to our Youtube and Patreon Members on @area52investigations , we were able to send out over 300 puzzles to Veterans across the Province of Quebec.

Every few months, a portion of the membership revenue is put towards giving Canadian Veterans something to keep their minds busy and their spirits up. 

 

 

Good for you Chris!  Well done. 

 

 

Request: Benevolence of Magic

The following is from Dennis Schick, the editor at the International Brotherhood of Magician's magazine, The Linking Ring:

Dennis Schick, Assistant Editor of the IBM’s monthly magazine, The Linking Ring, has been writing a series of articles on the Benevolence of Magic since the December 2012 issue. To date, he has highlighted over forty giving-back projects and activities of individual magicians as well as groups and organizations. Many are various kinds of fund-raising; others are simple acts of bringing joy and laughter to people in need, such as orphan children or senior citizens. Projects so far range from Kevin Spencer’s Healing of Magic and Magicana’s Sharing Wonder, to Magicians Without Borders, Magic is Medicine, and Michael Finney’s Foundation. If you do or know of good examples of magic used for good causes, please contact Dennis at crylds [at] att [dot] net* as soon as possible. 

Alternately you may post examples of your magical good deeds in the comments below, and I'll be sure to e-mail Dennis directly!

--
* Email formatting by Canada's Magic to discourage e-mail harvesters.

Benevolence of Magic part 3

Dennis Schick's third annual Benevolence of Magic (in the December "Linking Ring" (v95,12)) features two Canadian projects.  From Dennis:

The first is magician Jeff Christensen from Vancouver. Each year he and his wife and daughter produce “A Magical Evening” in honor and memory of their son, Jonah, to raise money for their Celebrate the Child Foundation, which supports numerous worthy causes.


The other is John Kaplan, also from Vancouver, whose Fundraising Magic program raises money for organizations and communities across Canada.

Well done Jeff and John for your hard work to help others.

Thank you Dennis for sending this information my way!  


Previously featured "Benevolence of Magic" Canadian projects:

• Magicana: Sharing Wonder
• Mosquitoes Suck Tour
• Sorcerers Safari Magic Camp

Magically benevolent Canadians

In this month's issue of the Linking Ring (Vol 94, #2, February 2014, pages 30-34), five Canadians were featured in the article "Still Giving:  The Benevolence of Magic Continues, part 3."  They are:

• Marien Hopman and "Busking for Hunger"
• Mike D'Urzo fundraising for "Dental Volunteers for Israel" and volunteering at functions for children with developmental challenges
• Magic Mike Segal for benevolence born out of Sorcerers Safari Magic and Performance Camp

and last but not least

• Matt DiSero and David Peck in their effort to reduce the incidence of malaria via "Mosquitos Suck"

If you recall, Canada also had an entry in the article that started it all in The Linking Ring (v92, #12), Dennis Schick wrote "The Benevolence of Magic" (page 56) which had a lovely mention of Magicana for it's My Magic Hands, Senior Sorcery and Tony Eng Youth Fund initiatives.

Magicana’s community outreach

At the end of January, we briefly mentioned the Linking Ring write-up, "The Benevolence of Magic," which included Canada's own Magicana.

For more information about Magicana’s community outreach programs, please see their post, "The Benevolence of Magic," over at Sharing Wonder.

Request for examples of magic benevolence

Updated on February the 8th to include link to Sharing Wonder post.

Do you, your magic club or other magic-related organization do wonderful things for your community?

In the December issue of IBM's publication, The Linking Ring (v92, #12), Dennis Schick wrote "The Benevolence of Magic" (page 56).  The focus of the article was examples of the magic community contributing to charitable causes and included a wonderful write-up of Canada's own Magicana for it's My Magic Hands, Senior Sorcery and Tony Eng Youth Fund initiatives.  Read more about these programs at Magicana's blog, Sharing Wonder.

Below is an excerpt from an e-mail Dennis recently sent me:

But we had so many projects come up at the last minute, that we had to plan on a second article, later this Spring. So now I am looking for any other good examples of magic benevolence, whether by individuals (performing in hospitals), local clubs (raising funds for some good cause), or conventions (raising funds for a hunger drive).

I invite anyone with any ideas of examples they would like to tell me about, to write to me: crylds [at] att [dot] net. I am a member of Ring 29 in Little Rock, Arkansas.  [Weird e-mail formatting by Canada's Magic to discourage e-mail harvesters.]

Thank you for your consideration.

Now I'll disappear.  POOF!

Dennis Schick
The Linking Ring, Associate Editor
International Brotherhood of Magicians
 

Feel free to post examples of your magical good deeds in the comments below, and be sure to e-mail Dennis directly!