A little bit of history .....birth of a bell choir

 

A bell choir for people with special needs? Why not?

Updated: Nov 18, 2020

It all began with a phone conversation between two moms of adult children with special needs. Our children had been friendssince pre-kindergarten. Both adults were now out of school.

We had years of experience creating meaningful activities for our adult children including volunteer work, dance,yoga, beach cleanups, swimming, walking and exercisingat the gym.

Why not a bell choir? Reading music is not required and people with a wide range of disabilities can be included.Bell choirs for adults with disabilities exist in other partsof the country. Why not Palm Beach county, Florida?

The fun and learning began!

Hand bells and hand chimes are expensive! After countlessphone conversations and emails, a hand bell association loaned us a set of hand bells for one year.

Then we had to find a music therapist. Music therapists charge between $90.00-$120.00/per hour in our area. After many interviews, we thankfully found one!

Next, we had to find a place to practice. The search began and the Town of Jupiter Community Center welcomed us.

We then had hand bells, a music therapist and a place to practice.

Now what?

Recruitment and fundraising…………….Not easy tasks!

These challenges will be included in future posts.

Keep ringing!

Donna, The Ringer Mom