For weeks, new and used donations of musical instruments poured in from around the globe and a team of volunteers for the Woodsongs Tornado Relief Project spent countless hours restringing and repairing any that had already been well loved but still had a lot of music left in them. Marie, who asked that we only use her first name, held back tears as she picked out a new mandolin for her children who are ten, eight, six and five.
“It’s hard to describe. Just trying to restore some you know, joy for the kids that they lost what they had and this will be special.”
The project was led by Kentucky folksinger Michael Johnathan, the host and producer of the internationally syndicated ‘WoodSongs Old Time Radio Hour’ and it was a family affair. His seven-year-old twins Caleb and Makayla Johnathan were in the thick of it, passing out instruments and bringing smiles to hundreds of families.
“I like music.” Caleb said. And Makayla grinned, “I saw happiness.”
The twins were on hand as Marie loving carried that mandolin and a few other instruments Michael Johnathan helped her pick out for her kids back to her car. She laughed that her young band had varying levels of experience, but she didn’t care, that night her home would again be filled with music.
“Something in sync with each other. Anything! But it’s going to be wonderful.”
Every instrument found a new home and requests have come in from more families in need.
To help log on to www.woodsongs.com/tornado/
