CEO of National Pawn, Bob Moulton, has a heart and a desire to give back to the community and to change lives. Just ask the kids at Shepard Middle School in Durham who are making more music with the recent donation of instruments from Moulton.
Every year he donates money and instruments to schools who may not have the equipment or can’t afford it through their budget. Moulton grew up in the Raleigh area and remembers how he felt when his family could not afford to buy him a instrument and instead got him a clarinet from a yard sale for $15.
Shepard Middle School music teacher Antwann Smith shows off his own trumpet skills with one of their newly donated instruments from National Pawn. (Staff photo by Roland Givens)
Though charitable giving is an excellent way to advertise a business, Moulton’s primary goal was, and still is, to help people. “We’ve donated different items to various charities,” he said. “It’s all based on what I needed when I was a kid.”
This marks the fifth year in a row of giving 100 instruments to the DPS middle school music programs.
In a ceremony complete with Hillside High School’s marching band the school celebrated the instruments and a monetary donation.
‘’I am a proud former band geek who knows first-hand what it is like to want to learn how to play, but not have an instrument,” said Moulton. “I want to help as many students as I can to realize their dreams of becoming musicians.”
After the ceremony, students proudly held and got to inspect the instruments that they will soon be playing throughout this school year.
Since 2011 National Pawn has been donating instruments and cash to band programs, in the Triangle and New Hanover County school districts. This year’s donation brings the total up to 2,375 in instruments and 38,000 in cash since the program has begun.
The band teacher at Shepard Middle School, Antwann Smith, a graduate of Norfolk State University, says that this is his first year teaching at the school and this was a welcome surprise.
He mentioned that the students were very happy and full of questions like, “Why are we getting this?” and “How did we get it?”
The money will help with maintenance on some of the horns and other instruments. The school received about four flutes, two or three clarinets, two alto saxophones, two tenor saxophones, 50 recorders and 17 guitars.
Jane Steele,MA says:
Wonderful It is a known fact that music courses and being in a band will bring out the best in a child.