http://ozarkspub.vo.llnwd.net/o37/KSMU/audio/mp3/springfield-music-store-reaches-out-tornado-victims-moore_62034.mp3
Amidst the recovery effort following last month’s deadly tornado that struck an Oklahoma City suburb, Springfield’s Hoover Music Company has joined forces with Moore Public Schools to raise money for their music education program. KSMU’s Amber Carr has the details.
The company has been contributing to the community in a number of ways for over 100 years. Recently, they found a new way to reach out to students in Moore, where an EF-5 tornado killed 24 people.
Cheri Norton is the manager of Hoover Music.
“I spoke with their city marketing manager and he suggested, of course, that we donate to the music education program which is a perfect fit for us,” explained Norton.
To raise funds, Hoover is selling American flag t-shirts at $10 each with $5 going towards the schools. They are also selling ukuleles and giving a percentage of those funds, as well.
“It’s 10 percent on most ukuleles; on the American flag ukuleles we’ll donate 20 percent, and the American flag ukuleles are $44.95 and the other ukuleles start at $34.95,” stated Norton.
So far Hoover has sold approximately 60 shirts and has raised $700. They are hoping to raise even more funds with the help from the Springfield Cardinals who have decided to support the cause.
“The Cardinals have agreed to let us do a fundraiser. We’re buying tickets and selling them to the public for $10 a seat and for every ticket we sell we will donate four more dollars to the public education program,” explained Norton.
As long as there is a demand, Hoover will continue to make shirts and raise funds for the people in Moore. Norton hopes that Springfield will continue to come together and support their cause.
“Springfield, Missouri can definitely help and I was looking at the population of just Springfield, Missouri, and if one percent of the population in Springfield bought a t-shirt, we could donate $8,000,” said Norton.
If you would like to be a part of the cause you can visit Hoover Music Company’s website or call them at 417-862-3573 for more information.
For KSMU news, I’m Amber Carr.