I received this letter yesterday. It touched me so much that I asked if I could share it. When my own father passed away two years ago, I was so numb that I could barely function. Fortunately, my dear friends on the SMF Board thought to ask people to donate to SMF in his memory. This student’s father must have been an incredible man, and I am moved very deeply that his family chose SMF as his memorial. The money donated to us is a sacred trust, and never more so than when it is given in memory of someone loved.

Dear Liz,

I met you after one of your talks at my university, where I am a postgrad student in music. I teach private viola lessons and many of my students are currently participating in the “Practice for Peace” Fundraiser.

The checks in this envelope have been donated in memory of my father, who passed away this month. My parents are both from Poland, where they practiced law. In 1981, they escaped Poland because of the unstable political situation there. After 16 months in a refugee camp in Austria, they moved to the United States. Here, my father changed careers and became an accountant.

After a long battle with illness, my father passed away. He was always truly a music lover in every sense. He spent most of his time listening to and reading about music, history, and composers. When I told him about your organization and showed him the video on your website, he was deeply touched and said it is perfect. I know he would’ve wanted and would’ve been happy to know that people were donating to such an amazing cause in memory of him.

I’ve been traveling and speaking a lot for SMF over the last few months. Orlando, Utah, Jacksonville, University of N Texas (UNT), Eastman School of Music, BYU Provo, and Los Angeles. The 3 universities have been amazing. Eastman and UNT both have started clubs to support SMF, and I’m hopeful that BYU will do this as well. The support we are getting from these university students is amazing. They really catch the vision of what we are doing and why it is so important. I hope to get them more involved in our programs in the future.

The Eastman students did 3 separate fundraising campaigns in December. First, they set up a table in the main hallway of the school asking for donations. Then, they took student groups to perform Christmas Music at a local shopping center, with signs asking for donations for SMF. And when they headed home for the holidays, many of them put on concerts in their hometowns. They played the SMF video at the concerts, they talked about the importance of the mission of SMF, and they asked for donations. In total they raised $1,862.

Next week I’m headed to BYU Hawaii, where I will address the entire student body in a devotional. I’m really excited about this. But I have to make our movie a bit shorter so it can be shown both in the live devotional and also in the rebroadcast on BYU TV. So that is my project for this week!