Help Replace Bev's Beloved Guitar

Mon 8/26 4:55pm: FROM SANDY: #LoveConquersRage: We are thrilled and humbled by the response to our GoFundMe page to replace Bev Grant’s smashed guitar—thank you so much!! We met our goal and then some and we’re channeling that love for Bev into a fundraiser for Play It Forward Foundation, a non-profit run by Bev’s nephew which provides free instruments, music instruction and performance skills to underserved kids. Funds above our goal will go to Play It Forward. We also wanted to let you know that the luthier who Pat built her baritone guitar with has to move his shop so he wouldn't be available to help Pat build a guitar for Bev. Though Bev and Pat are disappointed that the build won’t happen, we’ve received a generous offer from Rebecca Urlacher, a remarkable builder in Bend, OR, who was moved by Bev’s story. Click on the GoFundMe to read more and feel free to share our fundraiser to folks you think might want to contribute to Play It Forward! Again much love to you all and many thanks from all of us for supporting Bev! Fundraiser will remain open through midnight tonight.

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Sun 8/25 3:45pm: FROM PAT: Hello, all, and thank you again—Bev, Sandy and I are thrilled and humbled by your outpouring of love and support! I wanted to let you know that the luthier who I built my baritone guitar with has to move his shop so he won’t be available to help us build a guitar for Bev. I reached out to a couple of other builders I know and they also were not able to help us. But one of them, Rebecca Urlacher, a remarkable builder in Bend, OR, was moved by Bev’s story and offered to sell us one of her exquisite guitars for the amount of money we had budgeted for the build. This amount is well below what she would normally charge for this guitar. Bev has accepted her generous offer. Though I would have loved to have built a guitar for Bev and both Bev and I are disappointed that the build won’t happen, I could never match the quality of this guitar so early in my process of learning to be a guitar builder. I hope for many more opportunities to build in the future (though not for this reason) and this feels like a great compromise and a beautiful outcome for Bev.

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Sat 8/24 9pm: FROM BEV: Now that we’ve surpassed our goal in replacing my guitar, Pat and Sandy asked me what I think we should do with the excess funds received and any other funds that come in before we shut down the campaign. I suggested we donate the excess funds to my nephew Michael Allen Harrison’s Play It Forward Foundation in Portland, OR, which is where I grew up.

Michael has been a fixture in the Portland music scene for years and has a give back mentality, always looking for ways to help others. He and his wife, Marietta have built a not for profit organization called Play It Forward to provide FREE instruments, music instruction and performance skills, often partnering with local schools in underprivileged neighborhoods because of their belief in the power of music to improve learning, build character and confidence in general.

Here's a video https://youtu.be/OY-UNUCkc0U?si=rbq2PROqYiLVI877 where they talk about their work.

If you haven’t yet contributed, but would like to, please know that I would consider it a gift to me to be able to support my nephew’s work.

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Fri 8/23 11:30pm: You all are amazing—we have already surpassed our goal! Thank you so much and we invite you to continue contributing!! All amounts over our goal will go to whatever unforeseen expenses that may occur, (for example: purchasing a guitar case for Bev’s new guitar) and then towards supporting a non-profit founded by Bev’s nephew in Portland, OR, Michael Allen Harrison, called Play It Forward Music (pifmusic.org).

 

Play It Forward “helps young people realize their potential for greatness and creativity by providing musical instruments, instruction and inspiring performance opportunities” to students in primarily Black and Latino communities throughout the Pacific Northwest. 

 

Your donations will help to find and foster tomorrow’s leaders, innovators, and global change-makers among those who, historically, have not had access to the growth opportunities that come from learning a musical instrument, music literacy and songwriting, starting at a very young age.”

 

Thank you and much love from Bev, Pat and me!

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“Together we can move mountains” ~ Bev Grant

Bev is a dear friend of many, many years to both of us. This week, she posted that her guitar was destroyed by a rage-filled, out-of-control person who will, hopefully, soon be getting the care he needs.

We love Bev and we’re heartbroken. We know Bev is heartbroken, too. Our instruments means a lot to us and are part of how we show up in the world. They become part of our voice.

We are fundraising to replace Bev's guitar and Pat also offered to build Bev a guitar at the same place Pat recently built her own baritone guitar. Bev said she'd love that and that she’d love to be part of the process. So, we’re asking you, our beloved community, to join in this by helping us raise the necessary funds to cover the cost of the build ($5500) and for Bev & Pat's travel and living expenses ($2000) for the time they'll be in Colorado to build the guitar.

So many of you have already sent loving and supportive comments to Bev on her social media post. Even with just those who have commented so far, if everyone who was able gave $20 we would have more than enough to cover the build and expenses.

Pat is donating her sweat equity, as Bev has given so much to the community and to us personally over the years. Pat says, “My labor is my gift to help restore to Bev the tools of her trade and heal some of the trauma caused by this horrible incident."

Please contribute to our treasured friend and life-long, tireless voice for justice.

With peace and love,

Pat Humphries & Sandy O

Emma's Revolution

Bev wrote this on Facebook on Wed August 21:

"Two days ago, my Taylor 812ce guitar was smashed due to someone else's uncontrollable rage. I'm grieving for the loss and for that someone who refuses the help he needs. Yesterday, I donated the remains to Brooklyn Lutherie, who can use the wood and parts to repair other instruments. I was crying as I left there and managed to walk into a glass door on my way out. Now I have a knot and bruise over my right eye. I cried a little harder but managed to get home and lick my wounds. I got my glasses fixed today, which had also gotten whacked, and I'm hoping things will look a little brighter tomorrow.”