On April 13, the 7th edition of Marvin on the Rock, one of Marie-Vincent’s biggest fundraising events, took place. The event, presented by TELUS and chaired by FASKEN, raised over $268,000 to support young victims of sexual violence. Nearly 300 spectators were on hand at l’Olympia in Montréal to enjoy the performances of 12 teams of singers, with little to no musical experience, who put on a phenomenal show!
The money raised will help fund further improvements to our new Marie-Vincent Child & Youth Advocacy Centre (CAEJ) in Montréal, a bigger and brighter centre that is as welcoming as ever! With this new location, we will support a greater number of children and teens and provide better access to our services.
Watch the official video of Marvin on the Rock 2023
Touching testimonies
Hosted by our spokesperson Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin and her trusty ally Patrice Bélanger, the evening helped attendees fully appreciate the important work accomplished by Marie-Vincent’s committed and dedicated team and the tangible impact of our professionals’ work.
The importance of the services we offer to young victims of sexual violence was further demonstrated during Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin’s conversation with Shophika Vaithyanathasarma and Martine Blais, who very generously shared their own experience. Shophika benefited from Marie-Vincent’s services as a teenager, while Martine had to deal with the traumatic consequences of her daughter’s sexual assault on her own, without appropriate support. Stories filled with courage and resilience and so much hope!
An electrifying evening
The stage was now set and it was time for the evening’s entertainment. And what a show it was: the teams of singers bowled us over! Nothing was left to chance: hair, makeup, costumes, choreography… The stage direction for each and every number was simply spectacular. And the singing? What our performers accomplished with only three rehearsals with vocal coach Julie Dassylva is truly mind-boggling! Congratulations to: Accelia Capital, AQC Capital, Anges Québec, National Bank, BDC, Boreal Ventures, Boyden, DNA Capital, Fasken, Inovia Capital, Jarislowsky Fraser, Langlois Lawyers, Luge Capital, Mavrik and Novacap!
Early in the evening, Patrice Bélanger accepted Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin’s challenge: he pledged to belt out a song too if we raised $80,000. Once that target was achieved, Mélissa increased the amount to $100,000, which was reached in no time!
Patrice lived up to his end of the bargain with flying colours! His thoroughly impromptu rendition of Coolio’s Gangsta’s Paradise was a resounding success, delighting a cheering crowd.
And that was only one of the evening’s surprises. Our mystery guest, journalist, host and director Monic Néron, gave a warm and uplifting performance. An enthusiastic spectator even jumped up on stage! None other than Julie Snyder gave a surprise performance alongside Monic Néron and harmonica player Jim Zeller, ending the show on a high note.
Before the event drew to a close, the Best Performance Award was presented to Marie-Vincent’s wonderful team; as you can see for yourselves, it was well deserved—these singers put on quite a show! Bravo!
A glimpse of the event; image credit Ulysse Lemerise.
268,000 thank yous!
This successful fundraising event was made possible thanks to the commitment of our teams of singers, the involvement of the organizing committee, the generosity of our partners and donors, the Marie-Vincent team, the volunteers and every single person in attendance that evening. Thank you very much for your support! Many thanks to Cava Rose for masterfully organizing the event, to Studio La Shop for hosting our teams’ rehearsals as well as to our sponsors Mavrik, La Grange and the SAQ.
Finally, a very special thank you to Dominic Bécotte, member of the Marie-Vincent Board of Directors and driving force of this one-of-a-kind event. His dedication and keen awareness of the cause were essential to the evening’s success.
Together, we have the power to change things!
