First Music Student Earns Free Guitar!
Thursday September 24 was a very exciting day for the new music program on the campus of our Foster Care Community! Last spring, Todd Greene began to generously offer his time by volunteering and teaching free guitar lessons for our foster children. The goal for the music program is to expose children to a wide range of musical instruments, different genres of music, and the power of music as a therapeutic tool. We hope to develop in children a love of music, and offer children a life-long hobby and creative outlet for children who show a commitment to learning to play the guitar. Last school year, we began with 8 students, ages 8 – 17 that took lessons in the spring and learned about the instrument and how to play beginner guitar chords. This fall, we have 2 returning “Intermediate” students and a new “Beginner” class of 3 students.
Our Spring music students were encouraged to continue practicing during the summer while Todd had a chance to focus on his own singer-song writing as well as performing. Andrea Bradburn, Recreation Assistant for Southmountain continued to work with students over the summer, teaching them to play chords, chord progression, and to play their first song. Students were told at the beginning of the program that if they participated in 15 lessons, they would earn their own free guitar.
One of Southmountain’s 15 year old girls was the first to receive a brand new "Earned Instrument". It was a proud moment to see this beautiful teen reach her goal, and it is our hope that this accomplishment will be a self-esteem builder for her! She was presented with her own guitar during last weeks regular Thursday evening lesson. When Todd was asked to say a few words, he told her “You Rock!” We are so proud of her; and the second music student will earn his own guitar within the next few weeks. We hope to continue this program at Southmountain and develop a love of music for interested students!
