Hello. I am Elizabeth Hebert. Everyone calls me Liz.

I have been a Girl Scout since second grade in Morristown.  I want to share with you about my Silver Project. For my  Silver Star Project I chose to collect donations for gently used instruments to benefit  the Neighbor Hood house in Morristown, NJ. I began my project in February of 2012 and have had a great time meeting people and achieving this project. I Have learned a lot about my community and how leading a project can really make a difference.

 Neighborhood House is a local program in Morristown that has lots of great programs and activities for kids and families. What I discovered is that many people do not know of the music program that Neighborhood House has for children.  I want to spread the word about their wonderful program and the people that run it.

I have collected books for them in the past and I thought it would be great to work with them again. They have a great music program there for kids to learn string instruments, choral groups, and guitar. They need instruments and musical supplies,  so they could use them for concerts, rehersals, and practicing so that the children there can be a part of the programs and benefit form experiencing music.

When I was trying to think of a good project for my Silver project I thought about how it was suppose to be something that benefited my community. I talked to Neighborhood House and found out about their music program and asked them what they needed for the children in the program. I thought that helping this program would be good so the children can get a good experience from having music in their life.

Music has been very special to me.  I play the violin in orchestras. It has made me very happy. I wanted to help other children have this feeling too. I know that the instruments and supplies that I collected will help many children for years to come. I am very grateful to all the organizations and people that have helped me achieve this goal.

When I learned that Neighborhood House had a music program that needed donations, I knew this would be a good project. This tied all together  all of the things that I like and what I like to do with my time. I love little kids, playing my violin, and teaching. That is why this idea came to life!

Thanks to the generous and kind donations of many businesses, organizations, and individuals. The things that we have been able to collect this year are 30 guitar foot rests, acoustic and electric guitars, an electric keyboard, two dozen music stands, and other items!! You might think that is a lot. I do too. Especially since these are expensive items and hard to find.  I am very grateful to the people and businesses that have made this all possible and have helped me to help Neighborhood House.

I want to say thanks to Mr.  Mark Manning, my 8th grade principal from Frelinghuysen Middle school. Also, to Ms Harte the principal of Normandy Park School, as well as the Morristown High School. They helped me by putting on the web site what I am doing for these kids and the teachers over at Neighborhood house. I also want to thank Ms. Karen Manzel who owns Karen Manzel Violins in Boonton.  She donated music stands from her wonderful music shop to me because she didn't need them anymore. I also want to thank the staff from the Morris County Music Association who met with me and discussed marketing and advertising ideas to get the word out about my project.  Also, Ebberhardt Music and Elefante Music and the musical faculty at Morristown High School for their advice and donations and generous gifts of their time to give advice, make donations and  help restore and restring some of the guitars so they'd be in great shape for the kids who receive them.

I would be so happy if you could keep in mind that the Neighborhood House has this wondeful program. Some things still needed are a boom box, musical erase boards, and any guitars or music stands you might have. All of these items are helping the music program to grow and help even more children enjoy music. The guitar instructor said they also would appreciate anyone who would like to volunteer to help the kids learn music and he can help get you started and train you, so lots of experience isn't necessary!

I have learned that by helping others, it makes you feel like you want to help even more. When these children get these instruments they can hopefully have a happy experience with music. Music helps the mind to grow and gives you a lifetime of pleasure. Thank you for making it happen.

Thank you for reading my story about my Silver Project. I hope that you will consider keeping the Neighborhood House in mind when you wish to make a donation of some music items, your time, or just to even spread the word to people and organizations you know that might be able to help them even more.

Sincerely,

Liz