Christie Burns tunes ukuleles at the Northside Neighborhood House before teaching a class. Burns received a grant from the UnFoundation to teach kids how to play the ukulele.A dozen students raise their red, white and blue ukuleles, and begin to play a few simple chords. Others sing aloud.
The children don’t own the guitarlike instruments, which generate a light strumming sound associated with the Hawaiian Islands.
Nor were they purchased as part of a government-assistance program or federal grant.
Instead, their purchase stems from one of a half-dozen micro-grants handed out by Chattanooga’s newest private foundation.
It’s called the UnFoundation, and was created by a group of young community enthusiasts during a 48-hour launch incubator event in 2011.