The Gift of Music: A Resource For Life

Bill and Kathy Shuman

This story of giving is from Bill and Kathy Shuman

We (Bill and Kathy) were ecstatic to receive a $500 check from GSLC God’s Grace, Your Hands. Since moving to Cincinnati, one of our primary passions is supporting Taft Elementary School. At the Taft open house this year, Mr. Larken, the music/art teacher, expressed a dream of obtaining recorders and boom whackers for his classrooms. Before receiving the check, we were struggling to find a way to raise the amount of money needed to meet that dream. (Typically, music classrooms are not as well supplemented financially as classrooms.) Recorders are woodwind instruments that provide a relatively easy way to introduce students to a musical instrument and teach them how to read music and learn about sound and pitch. Boom whackers are lightweight, hollow, color-coded plastic tubes, each tuned to a musical pitch by length; they are part of the percussion family and sound much like a xylophone. Students use them in groups, much like a bell choir. The $500 check, supplemented with Thrivent-action-team-grant excess funds and personal contributions, allowed us to purchase a recorder, case and fingering chart for every student in grades 3 through 6, as well as 4 sets of boom whackers. Needless to say, Mr. Larken and the students are thrilled, as exhibited by the photos below. Music stimulates the mind, elevates one’s mood and brings joy; along with its academic benefits, it can get students excited or help them be calm and relaxed. Music is a resource for life!

Taft Elementary Music Department