Area children have been able to take advantage of a newly created guitar class, and now the public can get involved with the benefits.
The Boys & Girls Club of Elizabethton/Carter County on Friday, Dec. 15, at 4:30 p.m. at the facility. Children part of the class will take center stage along with county resident John Bland, who spearheaded the class. Elizabeth Williams, resource development and marketing director at the Club, stated the concert is free to the public.
What started as an idea turned into a highly-successful program that saw rave reviews from children, according to Club Director Ginny Wright.
“John Bland has given an incredible gift to our kids by starting this guitar program,” Wright said. “He’s not only fostering the kids’ creativity, but he’s showing them that invested community leaders care about their future.”
Classes started in August thanks in part to a generous donation of 12 Fenders guitars to the Club. Seeing the children enjoy the ability to strum the instruments made everything worthwhile, according to the musician.
“It’s great to see the kids enjoy music,” Bland recently told the Elizabethton Star.
The facility has experienced a busy academic year offering different opportunities to children within Elizabethton and Carter County.
Currently, the facility has a crowd rise account open only to raise funds to cover the costs of repairs, maintenance and other items needed for the buses at the facility.
The account shared the story of how the facility picked up less than 30 kids a day by the bus and shared how the facility has grown to service over 500 kids, like young Chloe.
“This year we need to raise $25,000 if we’re going to start the bus for our kids in 2018. That’s enough to cover all of our gas, our drivers, even our bus repairs, and if we are going to bus Chloe and her 500 friends to the Club each day, $25,000 is the only way that will happen. So I ask you today: will you help us start the bus,” the account reads.
Visit www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/start-the-bus-for-kids-today to make a donation.
For more information about the facility and other projects on tap, visit www.bgcecc.org or call (423) 543-2946.