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Rhiannon Schmitt, pregnant at the time, played a violin she donated in an auction to drive up the bidding and make more money for the group it was donated to. 2007

Salmon Arm Observer, December 12, 2007

Caption Reads: "Rhiannon Schmitt plays the $1,000 violin she donated to the Roots and Blues Festival silent auction held over the weekend at Piccadilly Mall."

Charitable Giving and Supporting Musicians

Violin Donations - Volunteering - Family Giving - Testimonials

Fiddleheads.ca generously supports music groups and charities in many ways.

Owner Rhiannon Schmitt is passionate about helping where she can and believes we all have something to offer to make the world a better place.

Fiddleheads has made efforts to donate to many worthy causes by means of donations of time, expertise and goods.

Violin Donations and Discounts for Charitable Use

Fiddleheads donated a violin outfit worth nearly $1000 to the 2007 Salmon Arm Folk Music Society Roots and Blues Festival Silent Auction. [See photo above] and an $1200 electric/acoustic violin to the Green Festival Fiddle Contest in New Brunswick in 2010.

Fiddleheads has also assisted several charitable groups throughout Canada attain heavily discounted instruments to start up string programs in their communities or developing countries to promote music education for children.

** Due to numerous online scams and fraud Rhiannon is very selective of the support she offers.

Interested groups and charities are encouraged to contact Rhiannon and provide substantial evidence the violins will be used only for charitable purposes and will not be sold for profit. Contact Rhiannon

The Green Violin

In 2010 Fiddleheads' Rhiannon Schmitt donated a GREEN VIOLIN to the "Green Festival" fiddle contest and Adam LeBlanc won the awesome instrument.

Says Adam, "I really like the violin, the colour is beautiful and it sounds wonderful when you plug it in and play it. I'm very satisfied with it. It was a great honor to be able to have the violin and I will definitely be playing it quite a bit."

Musician Volunteering

As a musician Rhiannon has played for free at literally hundreds of community events and fundraisers over the years.

For example, she and pianist Anita Liebich have donated their performances in house concerts to the Salmon Arm Rotary Club Auctions, raising hundreds of dollars for local and international Rotary projects.

Read Rhiannon's article on how musicians can volunteer their music at Christmas

Rhiannon also includes her violin students in the spirit of giving. The annual student Christmas recital donates all proceeds and collected food items to local food banks. Many other events have been hosted to raise funds for various causes and to promote violin music in our community.

Family is Where We all Must Teach Giving

Rhiannon's family supports causes and encouarges others to make a difference where they can.

Read Rhiannon's 2007 article on how every family can make a difference at Christmas without going out of pocket more then usual

Testimonials for Fiddleheads' Charitable Support

Adam LeBlanc, Fiddle Contest Winner and Recipient of a Fiddleheads Donation [2010]

My name is Adam LeBlanc, and I was the contestant awarded the Green Fiddle at the Green Festival. I really like the violin, the colour is beautiful and it sounds wonderful when you plug it in and play it. I'm very satisfied with it. It was a great honor to be able to have the violin and I will definitely be playing it quite a bit.

Thank you for donating it and I will take wonderful care of it.

Thanks a lot,

- Adam LeBlanc [shown in video at right]

*Adam has also competed in the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Contest

Salmon Arm Folk Music Society [2007]

I am writing to express our gratitude for the support you have shown for the Annual Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival and our yearly concert series.

Your donation to our 2007 Silent Auction Fundraiser was extremely generous – we cannot thank you enough for the violin package you contributed and for taking the time to come down to the Auction to demonstrate the exceptional tone and quality of the instrument.

I would also like to acknowledge your contributions in working with us during our yearly concert series both as an artist, and for sharing the progress of your students with our audiences. Each performance has complemented our presentations greatly and added a first rate representation of the talent found right here in our own region.

We consider ourselves very fortunate to have such a strong relationship between our Society and Fiddleheads. It is with great pleasure that I look forward to maintaining this relationship for many years to come.

[See letter in PDF]

- Lori Wilbur, Publicity and Marketing Manager, Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival

Trinidad Violin Project from the Rotary Club of Westmount, Quebec [2007]: Photos & Details

The violins that we (Rotary Club of Westmount, Quebec) ordered from you from were delivered to the Rotary Club of Maraval in Port of Spain, Trinidad, last month, and were very warmly received by those responsible for the music program...

I’ve attached several photos that I took while there. [See details]

Again, many thanks for your help without which this project would remain just an idea! Kindest regards,

- Don MacKinnon

Northern Canada First Nations Youth Fiddling Group [2007]

I was hired to set up "New Horizons" for a seniors program in our small charter community of Tsiigehtchic, Northwest Territories, Canada.

Our program mandate for 2007 was to bridge the growing age gap between Native elders and the youth. We decided to purchase some fiddles and some of the elders would teach the childen to fiddle.

I was in charge of the puchasing and did not know a thing about fiddles so I did some net surfing to find a dealer close to home and found Fiddleheads.ca.

What caught my attention was [Fiddleheads'] commitment to going green as I am always for saving the planet. I got in touch with Rhiannon and over a few phone conversations found her to be very helpful in helping me with the purchases and sizing of the fiddles. What a relief that was for me as I did not have an idea what to look for.

An order was made for eight fiddles to start up our fiddle classes. A few days later Rhiannon phoned and said "one of the violins will be FREE." I was so surprized . "Is this for real," I thought to myself, "Do companies really give away free merchandise to help community projects?"

Fiddleheads proved to me that that the world is still full of music - you just have to look for it.

The shipping and handling was taken care of and the fiddles arrived safe and sound. We are now in the process of hiring a professional to come in and teach music lessons to the young and elderly once a week.

Thanks to Rhiannon we are now in the process of bridging the gap between young and old. Thanks once again!

- Rita, Tsiigehtchic, Northwest Territories, Canada

Local Elementary School Silent Auction [2010]

Hello Rhiannon,

Thank you for your generous donation of the beautiful violin to our PAC Silent Auction - we really appreciate it!

- Alan Harrison, Principal, Bastion Elementary School

Thank you for taking the time to learn about Fiddleheads' charitable giving and assistance.

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