BraveWords.com has received the following press release:

SHADOW GALLERY member Gary Wehrkamp, recently co-founded a charity organization The Wishmakers. The first project for The Wishmakers is the recording of an original Christmas song about the Pocono Mountain, Pennsylvania region. Many notable Pocono area musicians came together in an effort to collaborate on 'Christmastime In The Poconos', a song about the joy, togetherness and spirit of giving that Christmastime brings to the Pocono Mountains. The song will be sold to raise money for the Monroe County Children and Youth Services Christmas Fund.

Gary Wehrkamp has been a member of the band Shadow Gallery since 1992 as their keyboardist, guitarist and back-up vocalist. He is also part of the supergroup AMARAN’S PLIGHT, along with Kurt Barabas, Nick D’Virgilio, and D.C. Cooper, which released the album Voice In The Light in 2007. He has also recorded tribute albums for RUSH, YES, GENESIS and PINK FLOYD. He has been a guest artist on ARJEN LUCASSEN’s albums Flight Of The Universal Migrator and Star One, EXPLORER CLUB’s Raising The Mammoth, DREAMTONE’s Sojourn and Reversing Time, and EXPEDITION DELTA’s 2008 self-titled release. Gary was also a songwriter for DREAM THEATER’s JAMES LABRIE’s solo albums Keep It To Yourself and Mullmuzzler II.

Another advisory board member of The Wishmakers is Jill Hughes, editor of the e-zine USA Progressive Music and manager of the progressive metal band SUSPYRE.

Trisha O’Keefe has who lent her voice on Amaran’s Plight’s progressive rock album, Voice In The Light and SUSPYRE’s When Time Fades... album, also sang on the song 'Christimastime In The Poconos'.

"The Wishmakers’ mission is ‘Musicians making a difference...harnessing the power of music and art to foster the spirit of giving.’ Our goal is to create music to raise money for charities. We hope to work with more local and national charities in the future, and we appreciate any musicians who would like to lend their talent for future projects," says Jill Hughes, who is helping lead the efforts with The Wishmakers, along with Gary Wehrkamp and Pocono area business owners and artists Kristi Bronico, and Bryan

Schmidt.

The project includes the production and CD duplication of the original song, which will be on sale throughout the northeast region of Pennsylvania. You can also receive a digital download of the song for a donation of $10 or more off of the website, www.thewishmakers.org.