Play It Forward

There are many musical instruments sitting unused in attics and closets. Most have been almost completely forgotten about. I'm sure many that are reading this right now have suddenly remembered about the trumpet or flute that is collecting dust and taking up space in their home. These instruments do not have to just continue to sit. They can be put into the hands of young students that are wanting to learn how to play but have no means to acquire such an instrument. That is the goal of the St. Louis based organization Play It Forward.

Founded by Samantha Fisher and the creators of STL Sound Magazine under the umbrella of the John V. Rudebeck Foundation, Play It Forward collects donations and puts musical instruments into the hands of the kids that have no other means to receive them. The donations range from new and used instruments to monetary donations. Play It Forward has been very successful in spreading the joy of learning music to the less fortunate. They have given trumpets, keyboards, drums, flutes, clarinets, and any other instrument that they can get their hands on to local school programs that have been hurt by budget cuts, needy individual students, and orphanages.

Recently, Play It Forward was contacted by a local orphanage that wanted a keyboard so the music teacher could perform with the students. Play It Forward did not have a keyboard on hand at that time but hoped that the community would come through and that someone would have a similar keyboard to donate. The community responded. At the St. Louis Blues Music Festival, Samantha and the rest of Play It Forward were surprised with a gift from St. Louis singing legend Kim Massie. Kim presented Play It Forward with the keyboard they were so desperately seeking. The keyboard was just sitting around not being used by Kim so she wanted to give it to Play It Forward hoping that they could find a good home for it. She was unaware at the time that there was a local orphanage just hoping for such a donation. Samantha accepted the keyboard and brought it to the orphanage. The music teacher and orphans were very thrilled to receive such a nice gift that they could use to create music.

If you have an instrument that is just sitting around, I implore you to contact Play it Forward and donate that instrument so that a student in need will be able to experience the joy of music. The Play it Forward website www.PlayItForwardStL.org also accepts monetary donations via PayPal and has a listing of all the events around the Metro-East and St. Louis area that are sponsored Play It Forward Donation events.

Picture an underprivileged student who's struggling with learning and social skills, so insecure that he barely talks. Put an instrument into this child's hand for the first time and he finds his passion, his purpose, and his voice. His teachers are also given a way to finally reach this child. Imagine a child prodigy guitarist who cannot afford an instrument nor music lessons and is given a guitar and opportunities for guitar lessons to nurture their innate gift. These are just a few of the real life Play It Forward success stories. - Samantha Fisher (Play It Forward)