When the Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity for Women at Ball State University started its Global Heartstrings Music Supply during the last week of march, they did not expect many people to be making donations.
But the project, which was originally only for a week, was extended until the week of final exams.
This year's project for the fraternity was to collect musical instruments and other supplies, such as strings, rosin, mouthpieces and music method books. The donated items would be sent to the Rachel Barton Foundation, which oversees Global Heartstrings, and then distributed to countries where basic music supplies are not easy to obtain.
The chapter set a table in the Music Instruction Building to collect donations, and is asking students to participate. They also collected items from the Muncie Symphony Orchestra. Because many more students kept asking the chapter if they could still make donations a box was set up in the main office of the Hargreaves Music Building and in the band office of the Music Instruction Building.
Sigma Alpha Iota member Allison Perry said so far the chapter has received four instruments and several music exercise books and violin strings. Seeing the success from this year's project, the chapter plans to make it an annual event.
"I think it's really great to see people donate," she said. "It gives people the chance to help others. Sometimes we have things in our houses that we don't need and it's good to know they could help someone else instead of having them keep collecting dirt."
Two other projects the chapter worked on this year were a fund raiser that would benefit the Sigma Alpha Iota National Haiti Redevelopment Fund to help rebuild Haiti's music programs and a bingo night, which would help music programs of Cowen Elementary and Delta Middle Schools.
Treasurer of Sigma Alpha Iota Kendra McFarland said she enjoys the opportunity to share what she loves with others.
"Music can be an expensive field, but we are helping people experience it at a higher level," she said. A lot [of my drive to help people] has do to with my love for music."
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