OUR STORY
The Influence of Ruby's Legacy
It all started with the Founder's Volunteer work with the Florida Federation of Music Clubs, Orlando Chapter.
The year 1998 I volunteered to be a monitor for the FFMC Music Festival held at the University of Central Florida. This was the most exhilarating experience for me. Since migrating from my homeland in 1980, this was my very first American Music Festival. It had been 18 years since I last attended a Music Festival. I grew up participating each year in The National Music Festivals in Guyana. My siblings and I studied music with Ruby, our mom. I did not realize how much I had missed the life of music.
As an immigrant, my life in America had been totally transformed. I was now focused and centered on corporate life. This festival had given me a great boost of inspiration. And now my tentacles of observation were very astute. I wanted to become involved. One important fact I observed at the festival is that 95% of the students who participated seemed to be quite affluent, and this made me curious as to how I could reach students whose parents could not afford to pay for music lessons.
Ruby's legacy was beginning to surface. I researched and worked with a Board Member of the Boys & Girls Club to find a location that would love to have my services. This led to my volunteering at the South West Orlando Boys & Girls Club. I began teaching a class of 23 students from February 2002 through December 2003. Many of these students subsequently transitioned to my private studio. And thus, began Ruby's legacy. The doors of opportunity were opened to children who wanted to learn music regardless of their age, financial or social status.
The Ruby Holland Foundation for the Arts was formally established in 2006 in honor and memory of our mother Martha Ruby Holland (Educator, Entrepreneur, and Humanitarian)
Motto: "Equality in opportunity for music education."
BOARD MEMBERS
- Elizabeth Fullington
- Edward Fullington
- Alice Patrong
- Esther Fullington
- Abigale Ornevik
- Loris Holland
- Elena Crosby
- Sharon Patrong