Violinist Luke Green (left) organized the young musicians group as part of his Eagle Scout Award project.
Six musicians serenaded patients at Memorial Hospital of Gardena last month, sharing their love of classical music with patients on two sub-acute floors.
The performance was organized by Luke Green, a senior at Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach, as his project for attaining the Eagle Scout Award. The violinist and one of his fellow musicians even played “Happy Birthday” for one of the patients.
The Eagle Scout Award is the highest award for the Boy Scouts of America. It is earned by young people who work their way through the Scouts BSA ranks, earn at least 21 merit badges, hold leadership positions in their unit, and plan and lead a significant service project to benefit the community.
“I’ve been playing violin since second grade, so it’s a major part of my life. I wanted to give back to the community with music for my Eagle project, and I thought it would be meaningful to visit hospitals in the area and play for patients. I wanted to bring them some joy.”
In turn, Green said, visiting patients on the subacute care units at Memorial Hospital of Gardena brought joy to the musicians.
High school students performed for patients at Memorial Hospital of Gardena in November.
“I felt really happy playing for the patients—it was the exact reason I wanted to go there and contribute to the community,” Green said. “When I played for the patients, I was scared they wouldn’t truly enjoy it, but their smiles made me feel warm inside and it was a rich feeling, so we kept going from room to room.”
Eunice Lim, RN, director of nursing on the subacute unit, was among the staff who saw the joy in patients’ faces. “They truly enjoyed the performance, and we saw how it lifted their spirits,” she said. “The performance was a moment they cherished.”
Green has plans to return and perform at Christmastime, and he says he would like to go back and perform several times in the new year.