Enterprise Pawn shop owner donates instruments to Rucker Boulevard Elementary School

Enterprise pawn shop owner Michael Welch believes music can make a difference in a child’s life and Thursday,

By Michelle Mann
Published: December 04, 2009

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Enterprise pawn shop owner Michael Welch believes music can make a difference in a child’s life and Thursday, Welch donated the gift of musical instruments to students in Hilda Hagins’ music appreciation classes at Rucker Boulevard and Harrand Creek Elementary schools.

Presenting Hagins three flutes and one clarinet, Welch said pawn shops nationwide are encouraged to donate badly-needed musical instruments to local charities or schools.

“This is all about giving and it’s a proven fact that kids who are involved in playing musical instruments make better grades,” he said. “These instruments may make a difference in the life of a child, and due to the slashing budget cuts in schools today, I hope these will make a difference.”

Hagins said she hopes the instruments would “make lifelong music lovers out of students. The students, with the gift of the instruments, will learn about them and know the difference between flutes and clarinets. When they get to Coppinville in the seventh grade, they’ll know about what they want to play and the instruments won’t be strange to them.”

The National Pawnbrokers Association, which sponsors the nationwide campaign, christened the effort as Musical Instrument Gift Day, a program designed to put musical instruments into the hands of children who need them most. It’s also a part of a program held in honor of St. Nicholas Day. St. Nicholas is the patron saint of pawnbrokers.

“I know some schools that can’t afford a lot of instruments to use in music education,” Welch said. “Pawn shops traditionally have a history of donating instruments and awarding scholarships to support the young members of their communities.”