How Your Support Helps Our Children

Since ACC’s beginning, the choir has been about the children. The staff and board of directors work tirelessly to raise money to benefit the choir and its choristers. One of the main fundraising goals is to allow ACC to grant financial assistance to families in need. Director Selina Midkiff has said, “The day we cannot help a child in need of assistance, is the day I close the doors.” The board has even gone so far as to donate money of their own to keep financial aid alive.

Fundraising is a difficult job and even harder when the economy is not the best. But, when you hear stories of how a child would not have been in the choir without financial aid, the hard work is all worth it.

One such story is from a family whose child has been in the choir for the past four years. She has just graduated to the top choir, Concert choir. Her mother says her love of singing and her place in the choir would have been in jeopardy if not for the generous support of donors.

She says:

“I don’t have the words to express how thankful our family is for your generosity. We wanted to convey our deepest gratitude by telling you a little about our family, and giving you an idea of where exactly your donations show up.
I brought our daughter to her first ACC practice as a six year old in kindergarten. Mrs. Noel had more patience than anyone I had ever seen! Before I knew it, she had turned a room full of restless little ones into a choir. No one knew at the time that my smiling little angel had just been through some very difficult, life changing events. My husband had suffered a cardiac arrest and was in a coma for two months. He woke up, but when he did he was blind and unable to feed or care for himself. As a family, we were faced with extremely difficult adjustments and challenges. Our finances were depleted with medical expenses, and my need to stay home and care for my husband.
I can remember talking to Noel after receiving a bill and being so embarrassed that we couldn’t afford to pay it. She told me to apply for financial aid, and not to worry. We were accepted for financial aid that year, and our daughter was able to continue doing what she loved the most, singing! She is well adjusted, confident and musically gifted! I give God the glory for these things, but I know He puts people in our lives to help us become the best we can be. She has been given countless opportunities to sing and to perform that would have never been possible without the Appalachian Children’s Chorus. She has been educated in music, taught to sight read and many other things that amaze and inspire me as her mom.
I am truly grateful for all of you who make her opportunities possible. She will pass on to others what has been placed inside of her. Your giving will continue to give because you are impacting a child, a life. Again we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”

Through donations, this child was given a voice. YOU can be the voice behind the voices. For more information about how you can you can make your voice heard through a donation to the choir, please visit our Support page.

Note: ACC is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.