A Rockford activist is bringing two musicians together to help raise funds for a gun violence prevention.
Bob Babcock has his hands in many things. One of those things is assisting Rockford Area Moms Demand Action. He said that group’s work is important.
“The life saved by that work could be ours,” Babcock said. “It could be someone we love and, and, you know, it's just the issue that first hit me with Columbine and my sons were in school.”
Babcock has solicited help from musicians Kristin Lems and Dave Stocker.
Lems wrote a song specifically for the concert.
“The title of it is ‘Too Many Teddy Bears,'” she said. “I will tell you that I went to a documentary screening at University of Illinois at Chicago about the killing of Michael Brown and the whole Ferguson uprising, I guess you might call it.”
She said the inspiration came from that film. Brown was killed by a police officer in 2014.
"People who loved him and remembered him and made these teddy bear memorials on the street near the place that he was shot dead," Lems added. "And all of a sudden, I just thought, 'that's it, teddy bears."
Stocker said this is the first time he has worked with Babcock.
“So, this becomes a special invite at this time, when I feel overrun by 1000 issues,” he said. “To pick one, to have this singular focus, and to find that I'm getting to make music with Kristin is just really special.”
Stocker learned that he had a connection with Lems that he wasn’t aware of. He taught her son.
The donation concert takes place at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 22, at Inscape Collective, 201 7th Street in Rockford. Babcock said many members of Rockford Area Moms Demand Action will be there.
