APPLETON — Appleton musician Rob Billings knows a thing or two about summer reunions.

Band reunions, that is. Each year the five members of The 5 Milers, an acoustic group with roots in Neenah, reunite in the Fox Cities for performances including benefit concerts.

The group, which has been around since 1963, will play its third annual concert of classic folk music of the 1960s at 7:30 p.m. July 21 at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center in downtown Appleton. Proceeds from the concert go to the Boys’ & Girls’ Brigade and the YMCA of the Fox Cities.

“Life has been good to all of us,” said Billings, who plays the 12-string guitar and contributes vocals. “We’ve all really been extremely blessed and it’s a situation where this is one way to not only share the music and have a good time — because we all really have a good time on stage — but this is a way of giving back to people. The tickets are only $15 so a lot of people can go who never might have been to the PAC, and the money goes to the charities.”

The 5 Milers are Billings, Appleton upright string bassist Lauren Mai, lead vocalist Terry Bigalke of Hawaii, fiddler Nancy Burleson of Arkansas and Tom W. Jones of Florida, who plays banjo and guitar and arranges songs.

The J.J. Keller Foundation Inc. again will support the concert by matching proceeds dollar-for-dollar, up to $5,000. Jim Keller, president and chief operating officer of J.J. Keller & Associates, attended high school with most of the musicians.

Keller, who also is vice president of the foundation’s directors board, said each board member can allocate money to nonprofit charities of choice through a discretionary fund.

“So I picked The 5 Milers (benefit concert) as one of mine, because they are my classmates and they needed the help,” Keller said. “It’s music people like, the folk-music era. They’re good at it. It’s one of those deals where everybody’s working together, helping each other out.”

The Brigade’s fall and winter character development and leadership training programs for youth in sixth through twelfth grades will receive the funds, said Pat Robinson, the Brigade’s development leader.

“It offsets program costs so that we can offer membership at an affordable level to families, so that families can direct their financial resources to their basic needs,” she said.

Sue Pawlowski, community relations director at the YMCA of the Fox Cities, said the money will benefit the new Livestrong at the Y program for cancer survivors.

Livestrong at the Y helps cancer survivors establish an exercise regimen through a free three-month membership, she said.

“They are able to bring a support person with them and they can come to the classes and exercise,” said Pawlowski, adding, “We’re very excited to be a part of (the benefit concert) and we are promoting it to our members and guests and staff so hopefully we’ll have a good crowd there.”

Last year’s concert raised $6,225 for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Fox Valley, Thompson Community Center and Rebuilding Together Fox Valley.

The 2011 concert program features songs from groups including The Kingston Trio, Peter Paul & Mary, The Weavers, The Limeliters, The Chad Mitchell Trio and The New Christy Minstrels.

Expect the mood to run from upbeat to contemplative, Billings said.

“I noticed last year when we were doing the really peppy songs, everybody was clapping and singing along, and then we would go into a slower song and they were kind of with their thoughts,” he said. “The big thing about folk music is it’s not about blaring guitars. It’s more about the words and the story.”

There will be a second chance to catch The 5 Milers in concert before the musicians head for home.

The group will perform at 7:30 p.m. July 23 at the Door Community Auditorium in Fish Creek. Tickets cost $15 and the proceeds will benefit DOOR CANcer Inc. and the Door Community Auditorium.

Audience members who bring a nonperishable food item for Feed My People will enter into a prize drawing.