November 21, 2003

Fifth annual Kids Helping Kids Benefit Concert helps Sunday Friends Foundation

By Tin Nguyen
Special to the Times

For the past four years, Campbell piano teacher Judy Wely has organized a benefit concert for her students to participate in to help other community members who are less fortunate. This year, she organized the Kids Helping Kids Benefit Piano Concert, held last weekend at San Jose State University, to benefit the Sunday Friends Foundation.

Each year Wely selects a different charity. Her students started practicing for the concert six months ago at her home in Campbell. Wely is the brains and also the gopher (for lack of better word) behind this effort, and she has worked tirelessly planning for fund raising, coordinating the piano moving, searching for/renting the concert hall, coordinating the singing lessons for the kids, putting together costumes for the kids, ordering flowers for the stage decoration, etc. To fund this concert she organized garage sales and an ornament sale.

This year’s concert featured 10 pianists as well as musicians playing flutes, harps and drums. The participants are her piano students and students from other piano teachers as well. More than 75 participants, ranging in age from 4 to 18 years old and coming from Almaden, Morgan Hill, Los Gatos, Campbell and other areas of San Jose, participated. The concert also featured Marisa Haines, a Van Cliburn amateur competitor.