Rising Above Ministries benefit concert raises $5,000 for addiction treatment centre

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Thousands of dollars were raised for a local women’s recovery and addiction treatment centre at a recent benefit concert.

Marten Weideman and John Lambert, members of Rising Above Ministries, were interviewed on 100.1 Moose FM on Tuesday, February 4th about their organization’s benefit concert held at the Lido Theatre on December 20th.

According to Lambert and Weideman, the event successfully raised $5,000.

“It makes a big difference for us, just starting out of the gates here,” Weideman said. “Every penny counts, and so $5,000 is a significant amount helping us forward.”

Weideman says the money will go towards addressing some of the organization’s needs as it prepares to open its first facility in Fort St. John.

Currently, Rising Above Ministries operates a treatment facility out of Grande Prairie, and is awaiting final government approval to open its new location in the Peace region.

Lambert expressed during the interview that hosting the benefit concert was a very different experience from similar events in the past, when his team “just played the music” rather than having any involvement in the planning process.

“We loved the whole A-to-Z of putting it together, seeing it off, and with the help of our platinum sponsor, the Pentecostals of Fort St. John, we were able to reach our goal of $5,000, and we were able to pay all our musicians,” Lambert said.

Lambert thanked the Pentecostals group and all the musicians who performed at the concert for their help.

“At the event itself, there was an energy there,” Lambert said. “There was a presence of the spirit of recovery and what that meant through, hopefully, some of the songs, but also some of the stories that were told.”

Rising Above Ministries first came to Fort St. John in 2021, replacing another local organization for addiction recovery and treatment that disbanded during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today, despite not currently having its own dedicated space, the organization is assisting several people in the community on their way to recovery.

Anyone interested in learning more about the organization or seeking treatment themselves can visit the Rising Above Ministries’ website.

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