Though Tank Hanna has only known about The Singletons for a few years, as a single father he felt captivated by the nonprofit’s goal.
Hanna’s son, also named Tank, played junior varsity football for Saguaro High School and the school hosted a charity event benefitting the nonprofit in the winter of 2020. Since then, Hanna has devoted much of his time to aiding The Singletons.
“Once I figured out who they are and what they’re doing, I said ‘oh, my god, this is such a great charity,” Hanna said.
“I have three kids and we’ve gotten through life fairly unscathed, even though I’m a single parent, but to hear that what Jody (Boyd) and The Singletons were doing with serving single parents who have cancer, it made me realize I’m so fortunate and so blessed.”
Though Hanna felt fortunate and blessed, he also felt the desire to help in any way possible.
Hanna has volunteered and donated what items he could to the organization over the past two years, but he wanted to do something bigger.
Then he had a magical idea.
Since Hanna is also a magician, he decided to work his magic and create a charity show to benefit his favorite nonprofit.
“I realized that this is a cool power I have and I wanted to do something more,” Hanna said. “I thought, ‘I can do more than just donate, but what if I could do more and use my skills and talents in a broader way to bring more awareness and gifts to them.’”
However, Hanna knew he would need some extra help so he recruited his good friends and fellow Scottsdale residents experience-based magician and three-time Guinness Record Holder (most costume changes in eight hours) John Fitzsimmons and the “Godfather of Mentalism” Kenton Knepper.
“They both have been helping me rebuild what I want my next 10 years of magic to look like and so they were the obvious choice,” Hanna said.
“These are good people that were local and I said, ‘I want to do something bigger and better and there was no hesitation on their part.”
When Hanna pitched the idea to The Singletons founder Jody Boyd, she agreed without any hesitation as her nonprofit is feeling the sting of inflation.
“It’s a hard world we live in right now, whether you’re sick or not,” Boyd said. “Our organization is seeing that donations are down and even things like laundry detergent – which was already expensive before inflation kicked in – have been a struggle.
It was hard for these families to make ends meet.
“They had to downsize their homes or their apartments and yet, they still have to go to their doctor’s appointments and treatments and do everything that they possibly can to fight for their lives,” Boyd said.
“The rise in the cost of living the rise in the cost of services is not something that they could have possibly prepared for or could have even been able to prepare for.”
Because of that, Boyd hopes that put on a needed fun event to spread the word about the efforts of her nonprofit organization.
“I’m honored that they have agreed to be part of this and that just makes it even more entertaining for the families who come out,” Boyd said, adding:
“When a family is going through something so scary, I think any way that we can bring joy to their lives, and additionally to our community and to be able to support these families, that’s important to me.”
Because of this, Hanna, also the host of the event, plans to marry comedy and emphasize why it is important to support The Singletons in his magical performance.
“They might get a little comedy and they might get a little bit of weird magic that will make them question reality but my goal is to make sure those that are experiencing it have a good time and feel empowered and enlightened by the experience,” Hanna said.
Boyd also hopes that this event could become an annual recurrence.
“I’m hoping that we see a room filled with people who take their family there after a holiday since it’s just going to be filled with a lot of laughter and smiles and everybody’s going to go away feeling good about it,” Boyd said.
“Hopefully, we’ll be able to turn it into an annual Thanksgiving tradition.”
If you go:
An evening of Magic, Mystery, and Mayhem benefiting The Singletons
When:12 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 26
Where: Scottsdale Civic Center Auditorium, 3839 N. Drinkwater Blvd.
Cost: $20 General Admission | $100 VIP (includes a meet and greet with a mini close up the magic show after the main event).
Info: bit.ly/singletonsmagic
