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The Tacy Foundation empowers children and teens to share hope and joy with hospital patients, military veterans, senior citizens, and disadvantaged youth through performances, music recording projects, and music mentoring programs.
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Director’s Corner:
We had 14 events on the weekend before St. Patrick’s Day. What a weekend! Harmony in Chantilly sent me a video after their event. It is precious: a young child plays "Amazing Grace." Much to her surprise, the seniors joined in and sang the whole song (video link below)!
On a Sunday, March 16th, seniors at the Hebrew Home sang the entire first movement of the piano sonata by Beethoven, Op. 13, the Pathétique. The seasoned high school pianist was floored that several people knew the piece and could sing it. At the end of the program, a senior told us that she grew up in Brooklyn 80 years ago and went to the Music & Arts School. She said that no one cared where anyone came from. But they DID care about whether the music was played correctly. Such amazing stories reside in so many of our senior friends! Thank you to all of the children and teens who play music often for them and continue to show their care and affection for the elderly through music and stories.
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Lovely Moment
On March 16, Bethany Vasquez played Amazing Grace at Harmony at Chantilly. The senior audience enjoyed the performance very much and many softly sang along. Thanks to Ray Tate, Executive Director, for giving permission to share the video:
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Thank-You Cards – First Responders and Rescue Teams
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In February and March, Tacy Foundation volunteers participated in a cards project to create thank-you cards for first responders and rescue teams who helped victims of the California wildfires. Volunteers created handmade cards with designs and thoughtful messages to thank and show support for these true heroes. Our community is grateful to these frontline teams; we are all very appreciative of their dedication and care towards everyone impacted by the wildfires.
Handmade cards were sent to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, the California Regional Food Bank, and the Los Angeles Red Cross. Included with these cards were 2,000 business cards with QR codes that link to a playlist of Tacy Foundation artists and musicians.
We thank the Tacy Foundation’s Technical Team for creating the playlist featured in the QR codes.
Thank you to all the volunteers who participated in the California project and truly showed our support and gratitude to First Responders and Rescue Teams.
A special thank you to Mrs. Holliday for coordinating and mailing all these special packages!
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Another Report on the Foundation’s Response to the Wildfires
The Tacy Foundation Tech Team (Lumina Zhang, Shaun Wang, Jake Kim, and Ethan Hahn) has been hard at work creating our Hope 4 You, California project: cards with a QR code linking to a music playlist, an art gallery, and a list of agencies for supporting California communities. Through this project, we hope to send love and support to the communities devastated by the LA wildfires. We greatly appreciate all the volunteers who have recorded music and created artwork for this project to share hope and lift spirits. We want to give a special shoutout to Jessica Chen, who designed the beautiful QR code cards, and alumna Riona Sheikh, who designed a fantastic poster with the QR code, which is being displayed at live music locations. The 2,000 cards were printed and arrived on March 12, 2025, at the Los Angeles Fire Department, California Regional Food Bank, and Los Angeles Red Cross to be distributed to California community members. -- Lumina Zhang
Hope 4 You, California
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Package containing cards
(photo provided by Charlotte)
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Business cards with QR codes
(photo provided by Charlotte)
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Acosta Ruiz making handmade cards
(photo provided by Acosta)
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Mario and Rukmani Lara – Thank-you cards
(photo provided by Ruki)
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Congratulations to The Spark Quartet on winning the First Prize in Chamber Music -- Young Artist Group B at the American Virtuoso International Music Competition (AVIMC). The award earned them a prestigious invitation to the AVIMC Winners Recital at Carnegie Hall in New York City in January. The Spark Quartet consists of Jemimah Lee and Joshua Hong on the violin, Claire Kim on the viola, and Hannah Phillippy on the cello. They are Tacy Foundation volunteers who have performed at the Foundation’s concert series at NIH. What an inspiration to us all!
https://avimc.org/2024-avimc-winners/
https://avimc.org/music-competition-winners-recital/
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L-R: Jemimah Lee and Joshua Hong (violin), Claire Kim(viola), and Hannah Phillippy (cello)
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L-R: Hannah Phillippy, Claire Kim, Joshua Hong, and Jemimah Lee.
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A Tacy Volunteer Looks Back
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I am Vedd Chandane, the Chief Intern at Asbury Senior Center. Being the Chief Intern there brings me much joy! I love to watch all the performers enter and then play their hearts out, not just on the piano but also on the violin, flute, and ukulele. Sometimes they sing as well. The greatest honor is seeing the seniors applaud each and every performer for their wonderful performances, then tell them at the end about how proud they are and how well they performed. It is heartwarming to catch a glimpse of the emotions on the seniors’ faces while they watch and listen to performances. Some even make hand gestures, as if they themselves are playing.
Apart from all this, after each event, I feel that I learned something new, which helps with my leadership skills. After each event, I feel that I did better than the last time. This progression has given me enormous confidence.
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Vedd, on the left behind his brother Anay, with other student musicians
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Piano Pals Closing Ceremony
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Fox Chapel’s Piano Pals closing ceremony took place on Thursday, March 20. The children played for parents and guests while their mentors sat by their side to support them. The audience of family members, staff, and Tacy Foundation alums gave tremendous support to the children and their teen teachers.
Elizabeth Griffith, music teacher at Fox Chapel ES, has supported the Tacy Foundation and facilitated this program for 11 years. Ms. Jing Xu has served as Tacy Foundation Adult Site Supervisor for seven years.
Laurel Tran has volunteered as assistant staff supervisor for four years. This is Dr. Nguyen’s first year as Assistant Supervisor.
Our gratitude for their and the teens’ dedication is immeasurable.
Congratulations, everyone!
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Left to Right: Anay Krishnan, Mentor; Victoria Lai, Mentor; Isabella Yanh, Mentor; Emma Nguyen, Mentor; Lan Nguyen, Assistant Adult Supervisor; Jing Xu, Adult Supervisor; QuynhMi Hoang, Co-Chief Intern; Rohan Krishnan, Co-Chief Intern; Nathan Tran, Mentor; Dinith Jayasekara, Mentor; Kha Hoang, Mentor
Not in the photograph: Elizabeth Griffith - Music Faculty; Charlotte Holliday - Founder of The Tacy Foundation
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Educational Mission: Foster youth development through music, story and mentoring
Philanthropic Mission: Empower youth to discover and use their gifts in service to others
Social Mission: Build community partnerships and create intergenerational connections
Whom We Serve
Seniors
Children
Teens
Service members
Veterans
Injured/sick
Economically disadvantaged
Individuals who want to serve
How We Serve (Programs)
Live music concerts
Reading Express®
Piano Pals®
Guitar Pals®
Composers’ Circle
Music USBs
Musical equipment
COVID projects through video, email, cards, puzzles for outreach to the community
Charlotte Holliday, Founder and Executive Director
Matthew D. Scott and Michael Tacy, Graphic Editors
Michael Favin, Chief Editor
Zoe Bell, Teen Editor
Max Belyanstev, Teen Editor
Donations are appreciated. All adult and teen staff are volunteers. No salaries or benefits. Every dollar you donate goes to supplies for all projects offered to the community.
Thank you!
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