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!
