Coats and Blankets Delivered!

This morning I delivered the generous donations of Coats and Blankets from my piano students and their families to the Children's Hospital Thrift Store. What a joy it was to walk in their store to hand over warm coats and beautiful blankets. Your gift will be passed on to help those who need warmth, with a monetary donation going straight to the hospital to provide hope for the uncompensated children they serve.

Thank YOU! to all those who donated to help Children's Hospital.

All About Shoes

I have always had a love for shoes. When I was young I have memories of my mom and I shopping on weekends at the mall. We would gravitate towards shoes and clothes.

One pair of shoes in particular stands out in my memory. I was of Junior High age, so that would put the time frame in the '80s. The shoes had red laces, the shoes themselves were a brown suede high top boot. Now, I would not necessarily say that they were the 'in' fashion look but the capture was that they were unique and others wanted them. Every time I wore the shoe - I would receive a compliment. People (and I) thought those pair of boots were it. 

I wore those boots to nothing. Year after year, I wore those boots. They held up through the rain and muck of winter. They worked with every bit of jeans that I owned. The red laces, I am sure, were the ticket to awesome. 

While I still love a good pair of shoes - whether they are for fashion or comfort or just because - there are people who have none. I know we all know this, but when it reached my level of conscious that I could no longer turn away from reality, I knew I needed to act. 

I was honored to have my friends join me this week in cutting fabric for the future shoes of Sole Hope. Supplied with a huge box of fabrics, scissors, pins, and patterns by Sole Hope, we made it into a party and spent a morning tracing and cutting. 

The cut fabrics will be sent back to Sole Hope, where they will be matched up with rubber soles cut from used bicycle tires, before traveling in March to the other side of the world to land in Ndola, Zambia, and Bugabo Village in Uganda. There, the Sole Hope team will educate and train women how to assemble and sew the shoes. The proud owners will first be the Orphan children who are shoe-less of those two villages. Orphan children whose parents may have left forever either by death or for reasons unexplained, or whose parent's leave for days at a time on a very regular basis in search of food and water for their children. Orphaned because they are alone, taking in survival by themselves until their parent returns, or until someone else finds the Orphan.

A shoe. 

A shoe can save the life of these precious people, who have not the resources or the know how, about how a shoe can stop the germs from literally eating them alive starting with their feet all the way up. 

So to give of our time this week was a gift to ourselves knowing that we can make a difference - but more importantly, a gift to them with one shoe to save one sole one step at a time.  

Update: January Coats and Blankets

Thank you students and families for donating in a huge way during Piano Monday yesterday! Here is the first wave of a pile started in my foyer for Music For Compassion's January Coats and Blankets Drive.

I appreciate every stitch of donation. It would be fantastic if we could keep items rolling in all month - Children's Hospital Thrift Store will be in for a huge blessing!

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!

January Coats and Blankets

Happy New Year 2011!! Many of us plan for new resolutions, whether it is turning in a bad habit, or creating a new positive in one's life, I felt it would be fitting to do the same with Music For Compassion.  While I will continue my monetary commitment, my daily prayers, and my personal involvement with Sole Hope and Wiphan, I am including Music For Compassion's New Year's resolution to include opening up compassion to areas around me with the hopes of encouraging others to join me.

I am pleased to announce that Music For Compassion will be holding a Coats and Blankets drive during the month of January. For my piano students and their families, I will have a box in my foyer where you can toss in your out grown clean coats, and your gently used clean blankets that you are personally tired of but others may enjoy.

For local friends who are followers, you are included too. Just send me a note and we can arrange for me to pick up your goods to include in my donation box.

The first week of February I will drive the big pile to donate to our Children's Hospital Thrift Store (send me a private message if you want specifics of this location).  One Hundred Percent of the net profits benefit Children's.

There are many organizations that are worthy of our donations, but Music For Compassion has chosen Children's because it serves so many youngsters and their families in our community. Not to mention that my immediate family, my brother's extended family, and my church family have all been personally and positively impacted by this great hospital. To give back, to provide help, to make a difference - no matter how big or small - is the right thing to do.

Join Music For Compassion - come throughout the month of January with Coats and Blankets in hand to donate to Children's Hospital.

Thank you and Welcome 2011!

Doing Good

I have been under the direction of a handful of piano teachers during my lifetime. Each of the women had their own niche too; one was strict on theory, another was strict on counting the beat precisely every. single. time. regardless how many notes were missed, and another had the perfect balance and did a little of everything just right. She was my favorite. Soft spoken, sweet natured, calm, accomplished pianist.

When my student's grow in their piano maturity, whether that is in completion of or advancement in, I would long for them to look back on their piano memories with Miss Linda as one as being enjoyable, solid teachable moments. Set aside all the piano theory, the note precision, the musicianship, and I hope they come away with the long lasting inspiration to care for others, and for themselves.

Music For Compassion is young, but my heart for compassion is not. Ideas are spinning as I hope to spread more thought and understanding to my students and their families about the needs in our community, in our country, in our world. Not everyone may have the same goal for the same organization, but I hope to inspire action. And while my focus is on Sole Hope and Wiphan, that does not mean I am blocked with compassion for much more, and spreading the news for involvement across all sectors - students, parents, neighbors, friends, family, community.

I will be kicking off a January Campaign shortly ... stay tuned.

Doing Good.

Fun Theory

TheFunTheory-dot-com is a website that ... is dedicated to the thought that something as simple as fun is the easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better. Be it for yourself, for the environment, or for something entirely different, the only thing that matters is that it’s change for the better.


Music For Compassion believes in The Fun Theory. Get out and do, find a passion, fulfill a hope or dream for yourself or others, make life Fun. When I saw this video clip on Youtube awhile ago I not only thought about the brilliance of those that created the piano staircase, but I was struck by the fun that it created for those choosing to walk the stairs. 


Think of the possibilities of how it changed one or two or three people's lives for that one moment. While I am sure it took weeks, or months to plan and set-up the piano staircase, the purpose was for fun. There was nothing in exchange that the users had to do to receive the fun. It was free. No explanation. It was just there. 


I like to think of giving as having the same Fun Theory message. It is Fun to make a difference. To expect nothing in return for the return is the act of giving. The Fun comes when you open your heart and give and watch the giving transpire and change someone else. Just because. 


Happy Thanksgiving. Rejoice in Thanks for the blessings that you have received from those passing fun to you, and may you find fun in giving back. 

Colors Of Love

I have frequently written about my love for and involvement with Sole Hope. So when it's founder posted on her Facebook page that her daughter was selling Crayons, I could not resist. Because these crayons are not just any crayons, they were made by her sweet daughter who is, I am pretty sure, age 5 or younger.

Why is she making crayons and selling them?

Because her parents are in the process of adopting from Ethiopia, and she wanted to sell something that would help raise funds to bring home her baby sister or brother. Her mom gave her a cute Etsy shop and took a few pictures for her sweetie to market her product. The rest is up to us. To have our heart strings pulled and to make a purchase.

I hope she sells out of crayons. I hope that she sells more crayons that she ever dreamed possible. I hope she sells so many crayons that she is sick and tired of crayons!!

Will you join me in supporting this sweet girl's dream of raising enough funds to bring home her little sister or brother? It's jut crayons. We all need crayons. And if we really, really don't ... then we probably know someone who does. And if we really, really, really don't know someone who needs crayons ... then maybe purchase just to give this cute entrepreneur a spirit of hope. It is for an amazing cause; to bring an orphan child into a forever home.

Join Me? www.etsy.com/shop/quinnscolorsoflove