The good folks with the Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour in Lexington, KY are once again collecting donated musical instruments to distribute to the victims of the destructive flooding in the Appalachian region.
On top of the loss of their homes, many of these people also lost all of their belongings, which of course includes their musical instruments. As homeowners and renters insurance typically exclude flooding from covered events, it’s unlikely that these victims, especially the poorest among them, have any way of recovering any sort of musical expression, or the hope that comes from playing, even if they do have a place to live by now.
So Woodsongs is asking anyone with a musical instrument of any kind that they aren’t using, in playable condition, to consider donating to their Hurricane Helene Instrument Drive. This includes any stringed instrument (banjo, guitar, violin family, mandolin, reso-guitar) as well as brass, woodwinds, and percussion.
Many among the displaced and disposed are school children who have lost the instruments they used in their orchestra or band programs. It may seem like a small thing, but anything that helps them return to a degree of normalcy is a big help.
Collections centers in Kentucky, North Carolina, West Virginia, Tennessee, Ohio, and Virginia are accepting donated instruments through February 15, which will then be distributed to flood victims on March 9 in Asheville, NC.
Monetary donations are also welcome, which will be used to help cover the costs of transportation and the repair or refurbishing of any instruments, as needed. New instruments can also be purchased from your local music store and shipped to a collection center.
Full details, including a list of collection centers and a PayPal form to donate money, can be found online. There is also a form to obtain tax credit for your donations.
Relief efforts in the wake of the Helene floods has been extremely difficult, owing largely to the mountainous terrain in the affected areas. A small donation of an unused instrument or cash would be greatly appreciated.
