We are excited to announce a new direction for future Matty’s Vision’s fundraising activities. “Necessity being the mother of invention” we are happy to let Matty’s Vision supporters know that there will be new ways to support the foundation and hear new music! As the world goes more virtual so will we.
We are building a cool new non-profit Facebook page to keep all our followers current with the fun ways available to support our mission of “providing instruments and musical opportunities to the visually impaired.” The page will be a great way to stay in touch with and let our supporters know what’s happening, when and where. The organizing and building of it began today!
The plan moving forward will be to use interviews and intimate setting music mini-concert videos and small setting “live” show recordings to raise funds. The larger venue efforts that served us well in the past will be occasional, if ever, in lieu of this new direction. Matty’s Vision, a Hal Rugg foundation, is organizing a series of intimate interviews and musical encounters with some people who worked with and knew the master steel guitarist personally. It promises to be a “Who’s who” of great Nashville pickers from the past when what we refer to as traditional country music was being recorded. The series (un-named as of yet) will focus on interviews with musicians and artists who worked with Hal when he was helping make hit records for Nashville’s biggest stars and working on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry for seventeen and a half years before stepping down to spend more time at home.
The series will be offered for viewing with a request for at least a modest donation to the foundation. The lineup to be taped is being discussed, soon to be invited, and after we find those who will be participating we will announce the roster as it develops.
As has been mentioned in the past, it doesn’t take a lot to help the mission and ministry of the foundation. All donations are appreciated of any size and it only takes $15 to buy a harmonica (which I bet Charlie McCoy thinks is a great gift for a student) and less than $100 to purchase a guitar. Although we give larger gifts the point is, that all the small gifts add up and they all count. Giving online is easy and the Matty’s Vision PO Box is always there if people want to give with a check via snail mail.
Schools will come back in the fall and between now and then we will be asking the music departments what they need most. Asking them to compile a “wish list” for us to work on to provide them with what we can. Please consider purchasing a CD from the web site or make an online donation as we were not able to organize any live events during the pandemic this spring when we typically would have. The Hal Rugg CD collection is a fine collection of instrumental music recorded by the master. You can crank it up and hear some great musicians at concert level or let it play in the background while you work. There is nothing quite like the sound of a pedal steel guitar played by one of the best if not the best to ever do it.
It is our goal to bring you authentic and quality content in the form of articles and future interviews. Tammy and I use 100% of all the funds we raise for the students. When we play, travel, record and attend functions at the schools we pay our own expenses. We cover all the foundations expenses personally AND Hal is still the greatest contributor! The royalties he still earns for TV shows such as The Wilburn Brothers, Statler Brothers, and movies such as Smokey and the Bandit, Coal Miner’s Daughter etc. are used to support the gifts we give the schools who serve the students as are other residuals that come to us because of the body of work he contributed to the world.
We are happy to pivot and become more social and more virtual to connect more and more people to the foundation. Students such as Matty need musical support to be the best version of themselves whether is simply developmental or if they happen to go on as Hargus “Pig” Robbins did to have a storied musical career. Music is so important to them and so is your support.
We will end with this statement: there is some magic in the making with the advent of the new Facebook page and music series being built. Stay tuned!
Tammy Rugg and Jack Klinefelter
Co-founders