Giveaway Winner Uses Electric Violin Outfit for a Good Cause

Should I Learn Violin, Viola, Cello, or Double Bass? Reading Giveaway Winner Uses Electric Violin Outfit for a Good Cause 3 minutes Next Fiddlershop's Music is for Everyone Series: Elisa Evans

By Alex AWDAug 30, 20171 comment

Tags

News

Victoria Woody, former Gospel singer, organizes rock concerts to raise funds for music therapy programs in children's hospitals, orphanages, and homeless teen refuge homes. Fiddlershop randomly selected Woody to receive a fully outfitted Electric Violin out of thousands of people who participated in the contest.

From Detroit, Woody is CEO of Red Balloon Day and Director of Development for Dick Wagner's "Remember the Child" Fund.

"The Red Balloon Day brings hope to grieved parents, provides instruments for orphanages and children's hospitals as well as Teenage Refuge Homes," Woody explained. "The healing power of music is astounding and encourages expression and song writting during healing processes."

In January 2015, a dream inspired her to take action.

"It was about little children's violins as center pieces for our VIP section at the first Dick Wagner 'Remember The Child' concert hosted at the Historic Fillmore of Detroit, January of 2015, " Woody said. "We got 25 donated children's violins. We used them as center pieces to raise the awarness of music therapy for hospitalized children, and then gave them to Beaumont Hospital of Royal Oak and CS Mott's of Ann Arbor."

While she doesn't play violin herself or teach the programs, she's felt the impact and power of the instrument in the lives of these children. She's made the decision to dedicate her life to raising funds for such programs.

"A little boy named Gerald was fighting a raging cancer in his body, " Woody recounted. "They nick-named him 'Super Gerald' because of his positive attitude and fight at [only] age nine. He became the hospitals hero and inspiration.

[His] mom Maggie told me that he hit a bad wall and withdrew socially. They tried to stimulate him with Nintendo games, superhero window washers, and special treats, but his little spirit became broken in which he became isolated which was the opposite of his bright social personality.

One day he heard a beautiful sound coming from the room next door. It was a little girl playing the violin. Gerald was so intrigued that the nurses wheeled her in front of his door while playing the stringed instrument. Gerald insisted to hold one and fell in love with the instrument. From then on, he learned the instrument, came out of his brokeness, became social again, and started to play for everyone in the hospital.

Although he passed away shortly after, [his mom said], 'Thank you for bringing my boy back through music'!"

You can find out more about Red Balloon Day on their Facebook page. Watch the video below to see the music therapists in action.