Are you free this Friday? Want to have a positive impact on the lives of a few people who could use your help? Interested in checking out some great local bands?

If you said yes to even one of those questions, then you should seriously considering heading over to O’Brien’s on 12/5 for a chance to see a stacked lineup that includes Sneeze, Scamps, Courters, and The Furs while  helping support The Home For Little Wanderers, an organization that serves vulnerable and at risk families and children, including those facing homelessness, with a variety of programs and services.

Homelessness has become an increasingly visible issue in Boston since the city abruptly closed the area’s largest homeless shelter  in October when the bridge connecting it’s Long Island home to Boston was declared structurally unsound. The closure left the 450 residents of the shelter out in the cold without a replacement facility.

With no contingency plan in place and frigid weather setting in, many residents have rallied behind the cause, joining activists such as Dave Gilbert of Scamps and Cassie Hurd, who is a Program Coordinator with The Home For Little Wanderers.

Hurd and Gilbert are organizing Friday’s show at O’Brien’s, with all proceeds benefiting two different families they have “adopted” for the holiday season through the “Big Wishes Gift Drive”. This is the fifth straight year the pair have adopted a family, and they are working to provide their adopted families with items included on their “wish lists”. Items include necessities such as clothing and hygienic items, as well as toys and more traditional holiday wishes. A “traditional” holiday including gifts can go a long way in helping to ease the impact of homelessness on families and children during the holiday season.

To help fulfill the wishes of the two families they are working with, Gilbert and Hurd have not only booked the show, but they’ve also organized a raffle where attendees can win merch from an assortment of local bands, as well as a bake sale featuring both vegan and non-vegan options. There will also be a golden pre-show photo opportunity at a kissing booth featuring Gilbert’s dog.

Tickets are only $8 at the door, and you can get in for  $5 if you bring an item that is included on one of the family’s lists, which you can check our right here. To learn more about the cause and the families that Dave and Cassie have adopted, visit the Facebook event.