A local nonprofit is spreading the message of healing and hope through the power of music.
On Sunday, Dreams Fulfilled Through Music held its yearly fundraiser concert.
The music was sure to get your toes tapping and hands clapping.
“Made me happy, regardless of my physical condition,” Gracie Gbernardi, a member of the Dreams group, said.
The polka tunes of award-winning band Mike and the Middletones spread through the Magik Theater.
“On the weekends, I’m doing this kind of a weekend warrior accordion player,” Dr. Mike Middleton, the lead accordion player, said.
In his regular nine-to-five, Dr. Middleton is the head of nuclear medicine at Baylor Scott and White in Temple.
Tonight on the #NightBeat Dreams Fulfilled Through Music held its big fundraiser. They help people with different abilities realize their goals through the power of music. pic.twitter.com/gEZVtaRErR
“No one ever really thanks me for injecting them with radioactive substances, but they do happen to thank me when, when I play some music that makes them happy,” Dr. Middleton said.
It’s a different kind of healing than he does in a hospital setting.
That’s the mission of Dreams Fulfilled Through Music, a nonprofit started by Mary Kathryn Archuleta and her daughter Kathryn in 2005.
Kathryn was hurt during her senior year of high school and now has trouble walking.
As a person living with disabilities, she knows the importance of being told you can, rather than you can’t.
“Sometimes we need to be able to feel like, hey, we’re useful too. We are able to give back to our community the same way others can,” Kathryn said.
Over the past 18 years, Dreams Fulfilled Through Music has helped over 900 people of all ages and abilities learn music and share their talents across the country.
They’ve seen how transformative it can be.
“Some of them will come in completely non-verbal,” Kathryn said. “Then two or three years later, they’re singing songs.”
Frank Villani is the chairman of the Dreams board.
His grandson is autistic and being a part of this organization, Villani said he has a new appreciation for the work being done.
“It’s about allowing people to be who they are and show all that they can be. And I think that’s what Dreams does,” Villani said.
Sunday’s concert is Dreams Fulfilled Through Music’s big fundraiser, but there are other ways you can help keep their mission alive by clicking here.