Two years ago Mike Parker walked into the trailer office of Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard with $2,000 and a wide grin on his face. The previous weekend he had organized a benefit concert for Hospice. The money was his gift to the organization that had supported his family when his father was dying of liver cancer while Mr. Parker was still in high school.

This Saturday, July 9, Mr. Parker, along with his band mate, Adam Lipsky, are organizing another concert for Hospice billed as The Big Hospice Payback Show. The concert takes place at Union Chapel in Oak Bluffs and will feature Island favorites Willy Mason, Nina Violet, the Hogstompers, Ballywho, the Phil daRosa Band, and off-Island band Mornin’ Old Sport.

Mr. Parker and Mr. Lipsky, who also lost his father to liver cancer earlier this winter, play in the band Dukes County Love Affair. They decided to abstain from playing on Saturday so they could focus all their efforts on organizing the event. They also work on the same landscaping crew and it was during work one day that they hatched the idea of the fundraiser.

“We were gardening, we were just talking . . . we were kind of grieving together about the situation; how hard it is, you know, being a kid and losing your dad and stuff, and I told him I had done that event, that Hospice fundraiser thing [two years ago], and it felt really good and we were like ‘Yo, we should do another one,’ you know, so it started there and then we kind of went for it,” said Mr. Parker.

Mr. Parker and Mr. Lipsky have led the organizing effort, arranging the musical acts and renting the space, but have also received help from many others, including their friend Alisa Javits who designed the poster, the musicians who agreed to take time out of their schedules to play, and Island businesses who donated money to the effort.

“Willy Mason is always playing fund-raisers and we were hoping he would be involved and [he] was like, ‘Of course I will, of course I’ll help out,’ and it’s just really satisfying to see people I grew up with kind of pitching in and doing their thing through their craft,” said Mr. Parker. “So that puts a big smile on my face, and hopefully it puts some money in Hospice’s pocket.”

Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard celebrated its 30-year anniversary last month. The organization relies on donations for its operating costs, to pay their bereavement counselors and nurses who accompany the family and the patients during the dying process. They also have a team of volunteers who work with the families and the patients.

“A lot of people didn’t really know what it was, Hospice, and then once you explain it they’re like, ‘Whoa, of course I’ll help. That’s hard core,’” said Mr. Parker. “Everyone’s just kind of in tune with how hard that job must be and how serious. The assistance is so needed in that tough time.”

Terre Young, the executive director of Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard, acknowledged the importance of fund-raisers like The Big Hospice Payback Show.

“It’s quite wonderful to have community members come forward with their own awareness of Hospice and their passion for sharing that awareness . . . that’s what’s happening with Mike and Adam,” she said during an interview this week at the Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard office in a nondescript trailer located within the compound of the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital.

“That to me is just so amazing, I have goose bumps,” she continued. “They came in here, big hugs all around, because I know them both, and said, ‘This is what we are going to do, it’s going to be so great!’ And so what that means to me personally, as director of Hospice, is that they’re our ambassadors in our community who are going to share the word, bring the word to others.”

Ms. Young remembered when Mr. Parker organized his first fundraiser at Nectar’s two years ago.

“You should have seen his face when he walked in the door and handed me this wad of money. He was so happy, because he knows what it means, what that money means, what we do with that money. I have professional certified nurses, I have licensed counselors. I pay them. I have to in order to get them to come to work for me. And that’s what the community is supporting, these people who have, first and foremost, the patient in their heart and in their shoes when they go out the door to get to work. And that’s what the community is supporting, these professionals who go out to help families.”

The Big Hospice Payback Show takes place at Union Chapel in Oak Bluffs from 5 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, July 9. Tickets are $10 (kids under 12 are free). In addition to the music there will be a silent auction of visual art work and a donation jar. All proceeds will go to support Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard, which serves the Island community free of charge.