Bands rally to fundraise for Bosma family

When singer-songwriter Jen Slocumb heard about Tim Bosma's death she says she was overcome with grief.

The 32-year-old father and husband was from Ancaster, the same place Slocumb grew up. Bosma went missing while on a test drive with two men who had answered an online ad for his truck. His remains were found earlier this month, burned beyond recognition.

• READ MORE: Tim Bosma remembered: father, husband, son and friend

Even though Slocumb is now living in Alabama with her husband, she followed the Bosma case closelyand last Thursday night, she and her husband Rob Slocumb wrote a song for the Bosma family. The two make up the country/folk duo Martha's Trouble.

"We wrote it specifically for them," Slocumb told CBC Hamilton. "We just felt compelled to finish it. It came together very quickly."

The song is called Prayer for the Broken Heart, and all proceeds from downloads of the tune are going to the Bosma family fund. You canlisten to the song and download ithere.

Slocumb didn't know Bosma personally, though they did attend the same high school some years apart. Her message for his family is simple"we're here for you."

"We wrote the song to show the Bosma's that they have love and supporteven from strangers," she said. "We're here for them and so is everyone in the community."

Many ways to donate

Martha's Trouble isn't the only group trying to raise money for the Bosma family. Toronto based rock band In My Coma is donating all proceeds from downloads of their song My Friend to the Bosmas for the next three months.

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"We may never know what really happened to Tim Bosma, but what we do know is that his wife, Sharlene, is left without her husband and their two-year-old daughter is left without a father," said Jasper James, the band's frontman on their Facebook page.

"This happened in our community and it's up to the community to come together in times like this to do what we can to help," he said. "It may not be much, but hopefully we can do our part to help them during this difficult time. We can't imagine what they're going through right now."

You candownload My Friend from Magnets and Miracleson iTunes here.

A motorcycle ride in honour of Tim Bosma is also running on June 23. Organizers of the ride say it will start in Kitchener and finish in Ancaster, but the details are still being hammered out. For more information,like the ride's Facebook page.

A month-long "Porch Lights for Tim" campaign has also sprung up in Ancasterwhere participants leave their porch lights on at night in a symbol of condolence for the tragedy.

For more information on ways to donate, visitinmemoryoftimbosma.ca.

Donations to the Bosma Family Fund can also be made at any Toronto-Dominion Bank in Canada, using account number 6332096, and branch number 2047.