By: Earl Pixley, Market Manager

Tornado-damaged schools and a flooded band room weren’t going to stop Angie Taylor, the band director for Highland East Junior High School in Moore, Oklahoma, from teaching music to band students preparing for the new school year. A lack of working instruments, however, couldn’t be overcome by willpower alone.

The Oklahoma City Jazz Orchestra (OCJO) started a local instrument drive to help replace those lost in May’s EF5 tornado that destroyed two schools. One OCJO member posted a request for donations on Facebook — a request seen by his brother-in-law, a Cash America employee, who saw an opportunity to act with a servant’s heart, one of Cash America’s core values.

Cash America quickly partnered with the OCJO, creating the “Give Moore Music” drive and donated  more than 60 instruments from Oklahoma-area stores. Together with the OCJO, the total number of donations went well over 100 — and is still growing today, thanks to the help of other businesses in Oklahoma City.

“'We act with a servant’s heart' is the foundation for our outreach to the communities where we live and work," said Dennis Weese, president and chief operating officer of Cash America. “We were in a unique position to help the Moore Public Schools and specifically Highland East Jr. High School. Serving the community devastated by May’s tornado is our honor,” he continued.

The instruments were presented to Taylor at a ceremony and jazz concert preceding the Moore Public Schools Board of Education meeting on August 12. In addition, three local students received instruments of their own — what she calls an unforgettable event in a musician’s life.

“For so many students, band and music is a lifeline that helps keep them in school,” Taylor said. “Now we can start school as if it were a normal year. I can’t be more grateful to Cash America and the Orchestra for helping to save our music program.”