Today is day two of the second annual Shanty Fest at the Greenbank Farm, starring and hosted by Whidbey Island’s world renowned Shifty Sailors. Other musical groups have been invited from off-island to help maintain the festive atmosphere, entertain the crowd and, more importantly, raise money to help Whidbey Island residents with their medical expenses.

Whidbey Island is lucky to have three separate groups, one for each geographic area, where people can go for help with their medical needs. It started on South Whidbey with Friends of Friends, expanded to Coupeville with Small Miracles, which inspired the creation of North Whidbey’s Medical Safety Net.

These organizations can’t compensate for lack of good medical insurance, but they do what they can to help people in trouble. They provide transportation, pay for ferry tickets, subsidize medications, buy needed medical equipment, and offer moral support in an individual’s battle against injury or disease. When you’re ill and living on an island just getting to the proper medical facilities can be daunting. These three groups help with that and much more.

The groups are not a substitute for good health insurance, but they do what they can to help. There will still be a need for what they do even after Obamacare fully takes effect in two years.

During hard times we each have a special responsibility to help others. If you can have a little fun while doing it, so much the better. The Shanty Fest continues today with an ending concert tonight. Call 1-800-838-3006 or just buy your tickets when you get to the farm. It’s a way to help your islanders perform small medical miracles for the needy. Hopefully, this event will grow larger each year. It’s certainly a worthy effort.