The Rock The Barn Story

D. Callum and Thomas Buckley Co-Founded Rock The Barn Toronto in the Summer of 2022 to raise funds for Mental Health research and programming in Canada. The brothers grew up actively involved in community service and fundraising in their hometown of Aurora/Newmarket, Ontario. They spent time volunteering and working with different organizations across the province, supporting various causes. In June of 2022, with a week to go in his final year of high school, Callum and his classmates lost a classmate and friend to suicide. It brought to light for both brothers just how important this issue is and how important research and advocacy are in advancing mental health treatment in Canada.

Music and charity are our greatest passions, and combining them to create Rock The Barn was a no-brainer. The event was founded on the core values of friendship and advocacy. We wanted to create an event that felt personal to the people we love but also one that inspired our peers and young Canadians to speak up about the mental health issues facing them and millions of other Canadians. We were lucky enough to be taught about the dangers of neglecting our mental health and mistreatment through school programming, but most aren't. And least educated on the subject are Canadian Adults. Knowing this and experiencing the loss of a friend led to the realization that we wanted to do more. We set out with the goals of raising awareness for the severity of this issue facing so many of us today and fundraising for an organization leading the charge in research and treatment development. When Rock The Barn was first conceptualized, only one name came to mind, CAMH.

We're now gearing up for our inaugural Rock The Barn Concert taking place June 22, 2023. And until then, the Rock The Barn Story is: To Be Continued ... :)