GYCO performed at Woodruff Park in downtown Atlanta. We were one of the volunteer groups that provided food and essential supplies to the homeless. Performing in downtown Atlanta has always been memorable because it meant an outdoor performance.
This time, however, being outdoors posed unique challenges. As we gathered in the park, we quickly realized that the weather would be a main obstacle for us to overcome. At 8:30 in the morning, the weather was heavily overcast and extremely windy! Nevertheless, all of us persevered in these suboptimal conditions and carried on with our performance.
For this particular performance, GYCO members also prepared snacks and hygiene supplies to give away to the homeless. Thank you all GYCO volunteers for contributing not only your musical talents, but also essential supplies (deodorants, lip balms and granola bars) for our most vulnerable members of society! GYCO was able to distribute 100 care packages to them.
Today, GYCO performed at City of Hope Atlanta (formerly known as Cancer Treatment Center of America). This is one of our dearest places to visit, as our music is heard and appreciated by cancer patients, their families, and healthcare providers.
GYCO president with Mr. WatkinsGYCO group with Mr. Watkins
During our performance, we had a surprise visit from Mr. Jonathan Watkins, President and CEO of City of Hope Atlanta! It was Mr. Watkins’ first time observing a GYCO performance in person. After the performance, he delivered a heartfelt message of his gratitude for our volunteerism. Mr. Watkins’ welcoming message was such a great treat for our members and their families, especially after driving about 2 hours to visit the hospital in the morning!
Dear City of Hope! GYCO will visit you again with more inspiring music soon.
The year 2024 was an amazing year for GYCO in terms of volunteer participation turnout! Throughout the year, our young volunteers worked tirelessly, contributing their musical talents to GYCO’s great cause: offering hope, friendship, and encouragement through music to the underprivileged members of our community.
To recognize their hard work and dedication, GYCO presented volunteer awards to its qualifying members based on their accumulated volunteer hours. The top 3 honors went to the following individuals: Jueon Kim and Yeoeun Kim for first place, Seojin Lee for second place and Caden Thov for third place. Congratulations! Your strong volunteerism is a great source of inspiration for others.
2024 Top Volunteers2024 Presidential Service Award Recipients
Our volunteers could not have accomplished their work without the support of their families. Parents drove countless miles for the volunteers; carried instruments and equipment; organized setups and cleanups. GYCO would like to extend its deepest gratitude to all the volunteers and their families. Thank you!
What a year it has been! Our members worked countless hours to organize, practice and participate in various volunteer projects throughout the year, with our foremost efforts directed to delivering healing, inspirational music to vulnerable members in our local communities.
Behind every performance, there has been incredible level of dedication and commitment from each and every GYCO member. This year, GYCO welcomed many new members, and although we were so thrilled to add new members, it meant that we had to constantly adjust our music, which demanded even more practice time from everyone. It is amazing how our members persevered through the challenges and tackled each performance professionally.
Among the many performances GYCO had done, there are a few that are truly unforgettable. One of them was the performance at Kkottdongae assisted living facility. In October, we visited and met with two residents who were over 100 years old! Despite their age, their mind was sharp and witty, and our performance turned into a celebration of life!
Another memorable performance was at Wheat Mission in Atlanta, whose main work is to provide essential support to people with developmental disabilities. GYCO joined their annual fundraising event, providing our performances. GYCO members and families also made cash donations. We were very glad to be part of such a noble cause.
In 2024, GYCO selected two volunteer projects, specifically targeting refugees and veterans. We partnered with another nonprofit organization called Friends of Refugees, who serves the refugee community in GA. This project was particularly meaningful to us because one of our GYCO members is a child whose father came to the U.S. as a refugee during their childhood. It was a great way to honor those who risked everything for a better life. We collected block books for refugee toddlers to support their literacy. We also delivered handwritten cards to them.
In celebration of Veterans Day, GYCO also honored veterans in our community by preparing and delivering hand written messages and small gifts.
2024 was a very busy and challenging time for GYCO, but we are so grateful that we received heartfelt welcomes everywhere we visited, and could touch so many people’s lives through our performances. We are so proud of our dedicated members for all their hard work and look forward to another great year in 2025!
With these beautiful, warm, sunny days, it is hard to imagine that Christmas is around the corner. To wrap up 2024, GYCO visited Heartis Village in Suwanee and Eben Silver Town in Duluth, GA and performed for the senior residents. We had special guests who made our events even more special. Thank you, our young friends! You were the highlight of our performances.
Also, thanks, Jueon Kim, 2024 GYCO President, Ian Choi and Joshua Yi for delivering special year-end messages to our audiences. Your messages were both insightful and hopeful!
