Red Bank music stores collect instruments for Haitian school

Students at the Momance School in Momance, Haiti, gather around donated instruments brought by a group from Ringgold United Methodist Church. Red Bank music stores Folk Music School, Fiddlers Anonymous and Consistent-C are collecting donated instruments for another group to bring to the school when they leave for a mission trip to Momance on June 24. (Contributed photo)
Students at the Momance School in Momance, Haiti, gather around donated instruments brought by a group from Ringgold United Methodist Church. Red Bank music stores Folk Music School, Fiddlers Anonymous and Consistent-C are collecting donated instruments for another group to bring to the school when they leave for a mission trip to Momance on June 24. (Contributed photo)

On a regular basis, Red Bank's three music stores - Folk Music Store, Fiddlers Anonymous and Consistent-C Winds - have people come in with instruments to donate that they either no longer want or need. Some are playable and others need a few repairs, which the store owners are typically willing to do at no cost so that they can then provide someone with an instrument who otherwise could not afford one.

Folk Music Store owner Steve Daugherty's friend Bill Honeycutt recently delivered donated instruments to Momance School in Haiti on a mission trip. The students could use more, Honeycutt told Daugherty. So he contacted the other store owners about collecting instruments to send with a group going to the school this month.

Pitch in

Donate acoustic stringed instruments at Fiddlers Anonymous, 2248 Dayton Blvd.Donate woodwind and brass instruments at Consistent-C, 3801 Dayton Blvd.Donate stringed instruments (electric or acoustic) at Folk Music Store, 3411 Dayton Blvd.

Their goal is to collect 36 instruments, one for each person in the group to carry on the plane. Any additional instruments will be donated to Red Bank Baptist Church, which fills containers with a variety of donations on a monthly basis to send to Honduras, where the church does mission work.

All three stores have been helping to provide instruments for people in need for years, and all accept donated instruments on an ongoing basis, said Daugherty.

"We try to basically, at least once a year, help out a school, organization or special circumstance or situation in the community [by donating some of those instruments]," said Consistent-C manager Jeremy Hill.

Making music accessible to everyone is part of the mission of Fiddlers Anonymous, which began four years ago as a free fiddle school held in the basement of co-owners August and Eric Bruce. The store moved nearly two years ago into the former Scenic City Scooters space on Dayton Boulevard, where it continues to host a free fiddle school every Sunday at 2 p.m., along with a free guitar class the first Sunday of the month (resuming in July), and a free clogging class featuring live old-time music the third Sunday of the month at 1 p.m.

"Most of the things we do are free workshops," said August Bruce.

Fiddlers Anonymous welcomes donations of acoustic stringed instruments, especially fiddles - even those that can't be played or aren't worth repairing, which she said can be used for art projects when the store hosts kids' activities every other week.

Folk Music School takes anything with strings, including electric instruments, and Consistent-C accepts woodwind and brass instruments.

The stores will be collecting instruments for the Momance School through June 24, when members of a group from Ringgold United Methodist Church will travel to the school on a mission trip and carry the donated instruments with them. Any electric instruments donated will be sent to Honduras due to space constraints, and all the stores accept instrument donations on an ongoing basis for people in need.

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