- Title: Opening doors with the cello, online donations and a caring professor
- Date: 8th May 2019
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) MOTHER OF KILLED UKRAINIAN SERVICEMAN, ALLA PEREPELYTSIA, SAYING: "(His) motivation was: "I don't want someone to tramp down my soil. It is my homeland, full stop." That was his motivation. "My children must be raised in a free Ukraine, full stop." He was a father, very good son and father, brother. What else can I say? The boys (fellow servicemen)
- Embargoed: 22nd May 2019 18:20
- Keywords: Eddie Adams June Huang Go-fund Me George Mason University cello
- Location: FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA UNITED STATES / INTERNET
- City: FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA UNITED STATES / INTERNET
- Country: USA
- Topics: Race Relations / Ethnic Issues,Society/Social Issues,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA005AE29MJD
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Twenty year-old Eddie Adams has battled homelessness, hunger, poverty and abuse - but music and the kindness of strangers is turning his life around.
Adams - now the lead cellist in George Mason University - was introduced to the cello while in Middle School and largely taught himself to play by watching YouTube videos. He, along with his mother and five siblings, moved homes around seven times in Northern Virginia, including to a homeless shelter in Alexandria, according to the Washington Post.
Adams' talent ultimately led to a scholarship at the Fairfax, Virginia university, just outside of the nation's capital. While the financial aid covered classes and housing, Adams could not afford consistent meals and adequate clothing - let alone a cello and bow.
One day his professor, June Huang, noticed Adams was suffering and hungry - and knew it was time to take action.
"He hadn't eaten, he was losing his job because he lost his car because he couldn't get to the job. He was losing his cello because he didn't have the money to rent the cello. And I just thought. What person can try to go to class and deal with all of that," said Huang, Director of Strings at George Mason University. "We're going to do this. I'm going to give you a cello."
Huang, who also gave private lessons outside of the university, introduced Adam's story to her student, 12-year-old Noah Pan Stier. Noah was so moved that he began a GoFundMe page for Adams last year - which has spiked in recent weeks and has now raised nearly $160,000.
"My life is like almost taking like a complete 360 in like two weeks. And it's kind of unbelievable. I'm trying to focus on, you know, being a student, you know, all of this stuff happening right now," Adams told Reuters.
Aside from the online donations, Adams has received gift cards, donations for car repairs, a practice cello and a commissioned custom-made cello for use later in his career.
"I still just kind of don't really understand. I just I feel like I just kind of got really lucky in terms of everything that's going on right now and I'm very grateful for it, but I also can't really express how grateful and I feel like saying thank you isn't enough," he said.
Huang says she wants to open doors for her students and give them the opportunity to excel without barriers. "What is in Eddie's way, is the door itself."
"Sometimes I think am I just crazy? But when this when I saw people giving everything from ten dollars to a thousand dollars to all these generous donations it really felt to me like yes we're related as human beings we all have this and it lifts us to lift someone else."
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