Update: Through the help of the Key Change Grant, we were able to bring Music is Medicine to another facility housing young patients and their families this summer. In the coming weeks we will be producing and recording the songs inspired by these amazing kids and we can't wait to get started! IF YOU'D LIKE TO PURCHASE our upcoming CD with songs inspired by the amazing kids we work with, please send an email to musicismedicine25@yahoo.com. All of the profit raised will be DONATED TO FUND RESEARCH for pediatric diseases and to CHARITIES FOR CHILDREN with serious illnesses (ex. Make a Wish, American Cancer Society, etc).

Additional hours volunteered: 25
Additional people impacted: 2
Additional people involved: 15

Leora Friedman
Number of people in the organization: 2
Number of people impacted: 15-30
Describe the impact the grant had: Winning a Do Something grant not only helped us to afford the expenses that will be necessary to record and produce the children’s songs and to donate instruments to the Ronald McDonald House, but we are also very grateful that the Key Change Grant has brought us some great publicity to help spread awareness for our cause in my school community and in the Baltimore community as a whole. Without the Key Change grant, we would most likely not have been able to continue Music is Medicine this far, and because of it, we hope to continue to expand Music is Medicine, to help more people, and to make even more of an impact for years to come.
Project highlights: A first highlight was performing for the Ronald McDonald House with my sister in July. The parents and children were so appreciative and it was an amazing experience. A second and very memorable highlight happened that same evening. After we finished performing, a three year old girl asked to sing a song for the audience. We happily agreed and she proceeded to sing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”, the “A B Cs”, and Barney’s renowned “We’re a happy family” along with our musical accompaniment. We and the entire audience were moved by her performance and it was great to see how we encouraged even the very young to sing and express herself through music. Finally, a third highlight was just speaking to the patients and their family members at the Ronald McDonald House. All of them were amazing and inspiring people who, despite their hardships, face life with optimism. Simply playing with the instruments we donated in the Ronald McDonald House playroom with the kids or talking to them about our mutual love of country music was something I will never forget.
How did the project unfold and develop? Since receiving the Key Change Grant, we were able to bring Music is Medicine to the Ronald McDonald House of downtown Baltimore – a facility housing patients and their families who require long-term hospital care in the Baltimore area. After hosting an interactive concert and donating children’s instruments to the facility’s playroom in July, we distributed our updated songwriting packets to the children. These packets allow the children to pick a theme for their song, to elaborate on that theme, and to select their genre of song, such as pop, rock, country, or jazz. We also distributed artwork handouts for the children to create drawings to complement their songs. Since our songwriting workshop, we are currently waiting for the children to finish crafting their ideas and artwork on their own so they have ample time to express themselves and their ideas onto paper. After receiving their completed packets, we will soon begin writing and recording their creations. In addition, through a recently created Music is Medicine website, we are more easily able to portray our program to the parents of the patients at the Ronald McDonald House and to publicize our cause to nearby hospitals and interested volunteers. Soon, we hope to update our website to allow children and hospitals on a national and local level to submit song requests and song lyrics to us that we will formulate into their own recorded songs. Overall, the Ronald McDonald community was extremely grateful that we took the time to bring our program to their facility. We are so glad that the children there had the opportunity to experience the joy of music with us, and we cannot wait to begin recording their songs.