In KC, Keys 4/4 Kids sells old pianos for new opportunities
A few years back, Ben Suchman could be found in the pulpit of a church in Missouri, preaching the power of prayer to help and heal. </ P> "I was minister for eight years, and # x201D; Suchman said </ p> But these days, head down to the West Bottoms, say, tonight on the first Friday and Instead, you will see the father of 31.. four on 12th Street, talking about the power of piano do the same thing </ p> The message is clear: you want to help a child? to Buy a piano opportunity.</ P> The non-profit he works for will use the money to support arts programs for disadvantaged children. </ P> "For me, I do not consider a Christian ministry. But I feel like there is definitely something that helps people," said Suchman. </ P> A beginner piano tuner, Suchman is most recently employed keys Minnesota 4 / 4 Kids, which quietly. extended to Kansas City last November </ p> The goal: find people willing to give piano. Donors get a tax deduction.For a small fee, Suchman and a team to carry away the piano - these days, it is an average day - and take them on the third floor of a warehouse at 1324 W. 12th St. </ p> Suchman <p> repair them, the air and, once they are in a decent attempt to sell them for what each will look for - from $ 100 to massive amounts Old , perhaps, $ 1300 for a large baby.</ P> Once the money from the sale of piano exceeds the expenses of the location of Kansas City, it will subscribe for grants and arts programming for children of low-income children in the region, as it does now in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota </ p> When the group expanded to Chicago, it took two years, said the founder Newell Hill, who is visiting Kansas City stores this week. </ P> Hill <p> the group began 12 years ago, when he was just a freshman at the University of Minnesota. </ P> "I was a bit of volunteering at the YMCA.One of the things we did was an after school program, working with children with music and art, "said Hill. </ P> A math who also played the piano, Hill had the idea of selling old pianos to support after-school program. </ P> It started with one he bought at a garage sale for $ 50. He fixed it and sold a few hundred. </ P> "It kind of snowballed from there," said Hill. "In one summer I had like 20 to 30 pianos in the garage. I have about $ 10,000 in sales." </ P> <p> Word spread.Companies that understand the target, the NFL and investment firms began to support the efforts of Hill. </ P> In a year's work into a non-profit, which at that time, called the Newell Hill Music Foundation. The money supported music, art and dance lessons for the second to the sixth-graders. </ P> In 2004 the school after the program expanded to the Boys and Girls Club and two schools. </ P> The organization no longer had to rely on sales of piano, which were still bringing in about $ 10,000 per year. He had the financing, said Mr. Hill. That is, until the economy started to tank.</ P> As the economy is in free fall, so do the external financing Hill. Instead of giving up, Hill returned to the piano sales as its main source of funding. </ P> The group has a warehouse in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area with about 200 and 250 pianos in a warehouse in Chicago Keys 4 / 4 Children rented two years ago. The warehouse of the West Bottoms and has about 130 pianos, Suchman said, is running out of space. </ P> This summer, some pianos have been used in an outdoor art exhibit dynamic Minneapolis called "Play Me, I & # x2019; m Yours."The idea was inspired by a similar, previous efforts in New York. </ P> <p> Old pianos have been purchased by sponsors and painted by artists. Located in the city, they could be played by pedestrians. The money went to charity. </ P> <p> Hill hopes to bring the idea of Kansas City as well. </ P> "I like this," said Hill, who left college to manage its non-profit. "I have to dip into other things too, like real estate. That's how I make money to support me. But this is my passion. Charity and children."</ P> In the meantime <p>, Lower West, Suchman is responsible for recovering more than eight to ten pianos donated every week people who are new to the group, usually by word-of-mouth or onlineads. </ P> The warehouse is packed with spruce, and the amount of consoles made by companies such as Kimball, Yamaha, Steger & Sons, Winter, and Acrosonic Starck. A Steinway dismantled in the late 1890's is in a corner.</ P> Suchman <p> standing beside a grand piano donated by a couple who, he says, he bought 45 years ago when they were first married and has promised to take lessons and to learn the piano together. </ P> <p> They were practically children then. </ P> <p "They never learned to play," said Suchman. </ P> <p Now, perhaps it can be sold to help children younger than their old version.
Source: Kansas City Star
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