Help Give Back to Our Beloved Mr. Woolf

Joe Woolf is a man who needs no introduction to the hundreds (maybe thousands) of students and parents he has selflessly served in this community as the Desert Hills Choir/Chamber Singers director. No doubt there are many unsung hero teachers out there, but every once in a while, you encounter one that really stands out for their dedication to their students, craft, and the community. I'm not sure many people realize what an impact an amazing teacher like Mr. Woolf can make in the lives of kids during their formative high school years, particularly in the fine arts.

Last year, I personally witnessed Mr. Woolf show up tirelessly, night after night, all December long to performances from St. George to Salt Lake. You can tell he really cares for these kids. A number of great movies have been made about wonderful teachers like Mr. Woolf, and it wouldn’t surprise me too much if he became the subject for one someday. This is a guy who shows up very early in the morning to share his love of music with a TON of rowdy teenagers and then teaches them throughout the day and into the night during holiday seasons. I know he must put in many hundreds of hours per year for absolutely free, including entire weekends in some cases. It is my understanding that he even has a CDL and drives the enormous bus around for choir events throughout the state just to help save money on a driver. Last year, he even took a tremendous amount of time away from a very close, sick family member just to fulfill the enormous voluntary commitments he had made to the kids and the community.

This year is no different. We haul our kid around nearly every night and weekend to this concert or that, and Mr. Woolf is always there as a great example of service. Just the other night, I picked my son up from a concert at a rehab center. He told me about one terminal patient who told him how incredibly touched they were by the performance and gave him a big hug. Excellent music from the heart can have that effect. Mr. Woolf makes excellent music, but more importantly, he helps make kids into excellent human beings. Between teaching, service, and side hustles, I sometimes wonder if Mr. Woolf ever finds time for himself. As a parent, it can be draining just making it to all your own kids’ activities. I can only imagine what it must take to commit so much time, energy, and money to the children of others.

Every Christmas, I try to find a good cause to contribute to, and this year, as I watched these kids perform time after time, I felt like a little thank-you in the form of a Christmas bonus to someone like Mr. Woolf was as good a cause as any and better than most. I will match donations up to $1,000. Please don't worry about GoFundMe Fees. They are very, very low and I will cover them one way or another anyway. Merry Christmas!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2OsHVqJb68