The closing days of high school are here! High school seniors are preparing their last assignments, finalizing arrangements for university life next fall, and starting summer jobs. They have accomplished a lifetime achievement---high school graduation. The impact of this moment is felt by parents as they realize that their child is now a young adult and will soon be “leaving the nest.” 
 
For all of us in the foundation, the poignant moment of transferring leadership from these inspiring seniors to those who are stepping into their very large “shoes” has arrived. We all will remember them as we carry forward their legacy.
 
These exceptional teens have continued to volunteer for the Tacy Foundation throughout their middle and high school years, including the COVID pandemic. They all have demonstrated legendary generosity, artistry, humility, and kindness. During COVID they rose to every challenge with imagination, beauty, ingenious invention, and endurance. They never missed an opportunity to bring hope to others. To each of them we send our love and appreciation. They are always welcome here with us whenever they choose. They will be remembered with honor and admiration.
 
Charlotte Holliday
 

During the last few years of the pandemic, volunteering has been a large aspect of my life. From coaching little kids how to swim to making cards, little by little my hours have grown.
 
One of the biggest reasons I am where I am today is my work with the Tacy Foundation. This foundation gave me countless opportunities; words cannot express how thankful I am. Not only that, but this experience has also taught me many things about myself. I have learned how much I love helping others. The feeling of knowing that what I was doing would help someone else has motivated me to write more and more. I have also learned about my passion for designing. I have had countless hours of fun designing and editing cards, and it was extremely rewarding when they were finished. 

Please join me in congratulating our founder and Executive Director of the Tacy Foundation, Ms. Charlotte Holliday, for being awarded the 2022 Neal Potter Path of Achievement Award!  The annual award, co-sponsored by the Montgomery County Commission on Aging and The Beacon Newspapers, honors two Montgomery County residents at least 60 years old whose accomplishments, enthusiasm, and lifelong commitment to volunteer service make them outstanding role models for those of all ages. Ms. Holliday was selected by a panel and is now featured on the Montgomery County Volunteer Center – Montgomery Services Awards 2022 web page

Ms. Holliday’s service has impacted so many people. She continues to give and give and give to everyone! Ms. Holliday’s impacts are exemplified through her and her foundation’s many missions, including: the Educational Mission to foster youth development through music, story and mentoring; the Philanthropic Mission to empower youth to discover and use their gifts in service to others; and the Social Mission to build community partnerships and create intergenerational connections.
When Ms. Holliday creates, leads and participates in these opportunities – either in person or virtually--hundreds of volunteers are impacted and respond to her initiatives, including students, young adults and parents. Ms. Holliday inspires all her volunteers and the entire community to take action and take care of as many people as possible. She also impacts the recipients of all these volunteer programs. For example, youth are encouraged to create, write and understand music and use these skills for playing the piano. Also, hospital patients, seniors and military members know that they are truly important to our community and that we care about them. Clearly, Ms. Holliday impacts, her volunteers, her recipients, and the entire community, especially here in Montgomery County.  
 
Ms. Holliday’s service is extraordinary and unique. She has volunteered for many years, with a true focus on giving back to people in need from all walks of life, including seniors, children, teens, service members, veterans, injured/sick, economically disadvantaged persons, and individuals who want to serve. This extraordinary effort and truly unique foundation which she created is a true blessing not only to residents of Montgomery County but also to people in Virginia, neighboring Maryland counties, and military facilities like Fisher Houses around the country, along with Veterans Affairs Hospitals. 
 
Ms. Holliday has dedicated over a thousand volunteer hours since the beginning of the Foundation and she keeps going!!
 
Ms. Holliday will be formally presented with her award on June 15, at the 11^th annual Montgomery Serves Awards ceremony. When you have a moment, please send her an email, or when you see her at our many Tacy Foundation events, simply say, “Thank you for establishing this amazing foundation, volunteering, leading us and CONGRATULATIONS on your award!”

-- Karina Willis-Lara, Adult Supervisor, Tacy Foundation – Cards Projects Team

 

We had a great time yesterday (April 30) at Brookdale Senior Living in Olney, MD. The audience there is always supportive, and the environment is very welcoming. We can always see genuine smiles on the faces of the staff at the residency, and they seem to care for their residents quite well.

As usual, these talented youth performers brought joy to the senior center. After each musical performance, the residents clapped cheerfully. One elder lady in the audience was so moved by the music that she kept wiping her tears. She said that these kids just played so beautifully, and she could not help it. One gentleman told me that his brother used to play first violin in a New York orchestra. The music brought back a lot of sweet memories. Some of the elder residents chatted with our performers individually, especially the younger ones, and showed their appreciation. An elder lady came to my brother, Samuel, and praised him for his violin skills and told him that his music was very much appreciated. 

At the end of each live performance event at Brookdale, they thank us sincerely and ask us to come back again. We have been treated like stars. Through music, we get to know each other and get connected. I would like to thank the Tacy Foundation for giving us this opportunity to serve our community. In return, we feel empowered by the residents’ appreciation, and we feel that we can make a difference. 

Below is a group picture of the musicians who gave yesterday’s performance.
-- Shaun Wang. Shaun is the chief intern for the Tacy Foundation at Brookdale Senior Living in Olney, MD. He is currently an eighth grader at Takoma Park Middle School. He made the All-State Junior Orchestra this year and enjoys serving the community through the healing power of music.
 

Ethan Schenker, Tacy Foundation volunteer since sixth grade and now a junior at Whitman HS, was selected by the Coolidge Foundation to be one of 100 Coolidge Senators! He will receive a $1000 scholarship and in August attend an all-expenses-paid summit at the Willard Hotel in DC featuring prominent keynote speakers! 
 
Ethan is pictured below at Shady Grove Nursing & Rehab Center during COVID. He and his brother Dylan were the first to return in an outdoor setting in August 2020.
Ethan also designed the music theory course as a complementary class with Piano Pals and Guitar Pals at this Title 1 school. Ethan remains very active in multiple leadership programs for the Tacy Foundation. We celebrate his success with Coolidge Foundation!
 
Dylan Schenker chose the Foundation for his Bar Mitzvah Fundraiser. He raised funds and donated all of them to the Tacy Foundation. Members of his temple, friends and relatives took time to write or call in their appreciation for his cause. Dylan continues to play at Shady Grove, now inside, and to participate in virtual live-music programs.
 
Together, the brothers are a powerful team as leaders and as participants, in any way they can make a difference.
 
If you have received an award related to your community service with the Tacy Foundation, we would very much want to share this news with those who support our efforts to uplift our community.
 

Susan Lin and Barbara Weaver-Barros presented a workshop on “The Neuroscience of Music” by at Georgetown Day School’s 2022 Middle School STEAM Day (see box below). Currently high school juniors at GDS, Susan and Barbara are neuroscience students who are passionate about music and hope to share their interests in both topics with others. In their 50-minute workshop, they talked about the neurobiology of listening to music, the effects and benefits of music, and theories on why humans have evolved to love and create music. They engaged their audience of seventh and eighth-grade students by having them listen and react to various clips of music and discuss which musical styles they liked and which songs elicited certain emotions from them.

Here is the link to the presentation

We hope you enjoy watching our presentation as much as we did making it!
 

My name is Ella Kim, and I am a 14-year-old pianist from Herndon, Virginia. It has been almost a year since I took the position of Chief Intern for the Tacy Foundation at Brightview Fair Oaks Assisted Living. This was my first time as a chief intern, and experience has been great. I am so happy to see residents who are always eager to listen and watch the musicians, regardless of our playing levels or the number of performers. Sometimes, there are only three or four volunteers who attend, but everyone is always willing to step up without hesitation to perform so we provide an hour of live music. The residents love listening to hymns, so my sister and I prepare a couple of them to perform at each recital. After we perform, many of the residents greet us warmly, saying how much they enjoy the music and how the hymns remind them of their childhood. There are a few residents who even cry on occasion! I am grateful for the opportunity to bring music to the residents at Brightview Fair Oaks every month.
-- Ella Kim

Below is a letter from Suburban Hospital in response to get well cards prepared and sent by Tacy Foundation volunteers, an April project for the following hospitals: Holy Cross Germantown and Silver Spring, Aquilino Cancer Center in Rockville, Frederick Health, Sibley (Hopkins).