Kathleen's Grown Up Christmas Wish

We are Bruce, Lauren, and Forrest Sandground, the husband, daughter, and son of Kathleen (nee Anderson) Sandground. Kathleen is a wonderful, caring, charismatic, and hardworking wife and mom, and the singular best singer we've ever heard.

For us kids, growing up, the house was always filled with music because of her. She was always singing: sitting at her beloved baby grand piano playing a church hymn, belting a Broadway showstopper while cleaning, harmonizing to Bernadette Peters' Stephen Sondheim album while driving us to school. She instilled a love of music in us (that manifested itself through drums, saxophone, and yes, piano). Music is one of many things we are grateful for that she has shared with us during our livese.

And, of course, for Bruce, music was the reason that Kathleen ended up in Washington, DC, and where their love story blossomed.

The last few years have been difficult ones for Kathleen. She has dealt with numerous health issues that would knock out most people we know. She has also been the caretaker for several family members -- her father, stepfather, and now mother. One bright spot this year for her was practicing to sing at Lauren's wedding in September 2022. She knocked it out of the park, and our favorite was her rendition of "You'll Never Walk Alone" from Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical, Carousel.

Kathleen tells the story of how, while working in Calloway Gardens in Georgia in her 20's, she was approached by the president of Arista Records to record an album. She said that since she did not have any original music at the time, she didn't follow up on the opportunity. She has always wished she had.

Though we cannot turn back time, we want to give Kathleen the opportunity to record her own album in 2023. To do so, we will need to rent studio space and compensate musicians and studio engineers, among other things. While we've set aside some money on our own, we think it would be incredibly special if Kathleen's friends and family contribute, even if just in a little way, to a project that's been a lifetime in the making.

Will you consider donating to our fundraiser to make Kathleen's dream of recording an album a reality? (She does not know anything about this -- keep it a secret!!)

Our family and we appreciate your consideration of this request and wish all of you a wonderful holiday season.

With love,

Bruce, Lauren, and Forrest Sandground

P.S. If you'd like to hear Kathleen sing a bit of Grown Up Christmas Wish, here's a link a short YouTube video... https://youtube.com/shorts/gsJkuA9MT8o?feature=share

P.S.S. Please enjoy some fun photos of Kathleen throughout the years singing, dancing, performing, and entertaining!