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by The Gainesville Sun

Last fall, when the Buchholz High School Wind Symphony of Gainesville, Florida was preparing for its trip to Chicago to perform at the Midwest Clinic, a local church stepped in to relieve a bit of the financial burden for the students. The church launched "The Wind Symphony Windy City Coat Project" and set a goal to collect a new coat for each student to wear while in Chicago. The day the project was introduced at the church, all 57 coats were adopted and cold weather gear began pouring into the church office.

The students were toasty warm wearing the donated coats, hats and gloves for the four-day trip to Chicago. When the band headed to the airport to return to sunny Florida, they shed those warm coats and donated all of their winter gear to Circle Urban Ministries, a mission outreach organization that serves the needs of high school students from under-privileged families in the Chicago-land area.

Pastor Heiberg of the church that arranged "The Wind Symphony Windy City Coat Project" said, “The project was truly a win-win-win event. We applaud our church family for their generosity in helping the students, and we applaud the students for their act of sacrifice in helping others!” Alex Kaminsky, Director of Bands at Buchholz, said that "this is just another example of the wonderful community support our band program receives. The lesson my students learned in giving back to needy families in Chicago is priceless!"

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