New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Often out to sea for up to 10 months at a time, 50 children of the crew have access to two Yamaha keyboards to be used in a fully accredited ship-board classroom, now adding music education to their curriculum.
"When I learned about this group and the amazing work they do, I knew that we had to do something to help them with their program," says
David Jewell, marketing communications manager of the Customer Sales & Marketing Group, Yamaha Corporation of America.
Worldwide, as many as five billion people lack access to safe, affordable surgical and anesthesia services and less than 6 percent of all operations are performed in the world's poorest countries.
But since nearly 50 percent of these populations live within 100 miles of a coast, Mercy Ships are able to sail a modern floating hospital directly to the people most in need. They now stop in nearly 600 ports around the world, and since its inception in 1978, the group has performed more than 84,000 lifesaving and life-altering surgeries.
"When I learned about this group and the amazing work they do, I knew that we had to do something to help them with their program," says
David Jewell, marketing communications manager of the Customer Sales & Marketing Group, Yamaha Corporation of America.
That help came in the form of two YPG235 keyboards to be used in a fully accredited ship-board classroom for the 50 children of the crew who are often out to sea for up to 10 months at a time. "The kids attend classes all week, and now music education has been added to their curriculum, something Yamaha has always strongly supported."
On weekends, the crews' children help out with therapy for patients recovering from surgery. Now, in addition to keeping them company and playing games, they will be able to entertain them with their newly learned musical skills.
When Jewell went to the shipping department to deliver the instruments, one of the warehouse workers exclaimed, "Oh, my! I just saw something about this group on television. I can't believe that I am helping to do this—it makes me feel really good about working at Yamaha."
"Mercy Ships is doing such great work," Jewell says. Yamaha is happy to continue its support of music education and aid in these patients' recoveries."
