When Lake of the Ozarks-based musician Monte Davidson heard about the four children who died in an Osage Beach condo unit fire Tuesday, he immediately knew he wanted to help their family.
"I heard about it this morning at 7:30 a.m. and I couldn't do anything else but want to help those four kids and their family," he said Wednesday.
Davidson and the owners of the Batter's Box Eatery Pub, Jeff and Stacey Coats, immediately began planning a benefit for the family, which is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 9 at the Lake Ozark restaurant.
Davidson, who plays regularly at the Batter's Box, reached out to many of his longtime musician and singer friends to come to the benefit and perform as part of the event's entertainment.
"We have had so many calls coming in of people wanting to support this family and benefit. Right now, we have musicians that will be at the benefit from the state of California, Nashville and Key West, Florida, as well as St. Louis, Jefferson City and many local musicians," he said. "There will be at least 20 musicians and singers ... they will all be playing (for free)."
Davidson said the Batter's Box owners are not only donating their venue for the event but also a portion of all food sales to the fund for the family.
"Jeff and Stacy Coast are very community-minded people," he added.
Davidson said all the donations made during the event would be placed into an escrow entity. He said with the benefit being organized quickly after the fire, this way the donations are in a secure fund until the family decides where they would like to contributions to go.
With representatives from the local police and fire departments attending the benefit, Davidson said he hopes the community can come together to support this family and the children who died in this heartbreaking incident.
"What a tragic thing to not just have one child but multiple children pass away," he said. "It's all about the kids and seeing that they are taken care of with their last rites ... We want everyone to come and participate and pull together as a community for this family."
Batter's Box is located at 68 N. Shore Dr., off Route W, in Lake Ozark. For more information, to participate as a musician in the event or to make a contribution to the fund, contact the Batter's Box at 573-365-1600.
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