In a Hohner sponsored session on August 1, 2014 I returned to Snowden and Moulds Cottages at the Ferris detention facility in Wilmington Delaware; a full-security juvenile facility for boys whose mission is to “provide educational and therapeutic services to adjudicated youth in a safe, staff-secure and gender sensitive environment preparing them for successful re-entry into the community.” Over the years Harmonikids' ongoing programs to assist the youth at Ferris have become among my personal favorites because the participants (many of whom have been neglected, abandoned, and/or abused in their young lives) receive much-needed self esteem and confidence from the experience. The proven therapeutic benefits Harmonikids provides to troubled teens there are described by Treatment Specialist Supervisor Lester Whidbee in his report on the right.

Gary Allegretto Brings His Harmonikids Program To Troubled Teens In A Hohner-sponsored Session At The Mountain School Detention Facility In Elkins, West Virginia

Gary Allegretto brought his Harmonikids program to the Elkins Mountain School during his stay at the Augusta Heritage Center is Elkins, West Virginia. The Elkins Mountain School is a rural, residential facility for teenage boys who are Level 1 or 2 offenders from across the state of West Virginia. Gary and his program were absolutely amazing!

Sometimes my Harmonikids sessions have particularly deep-rooted personal meaning. Such is the case for my return visit to Sunflower Landing, in Dublin, MS. So much of the music and musicians that made the Blues the most popular and beloved music ever to be played on the harmonica came from rural towns in the Mississippi Delta. Howling Wolf, James Cotton, and Sonny Boy Williamson are just a few of the great Blues harpmen to come directly from the area. In my teens I had the unsurpassed thrill of witnessing the legendary Clarksdale, Mississippi-born Bluesman Muddy Waters perform with his band that included the legendary Pinetop Perkins, James Cotton, and Bob Margolin. The experience changed my life and shaped my musical direction. I imagined myself playing with them someday.

By Gary Allegretto

On April 29, 2014 a Hohner-sponsored Harmonikids session for the Asian American Family Services brought joy to dozens of Burmese refugee children in a low income housing project in Houston Texas. The session was organized with the assistance of Daren Hightower of The Children's Music Foundation.

On April 3rd 2014 a Hohner-sponsored Harmonikids session at the Phoenix Children's Hospital's "Zone" facility brought healing joy to over a dozen child patients and members of their families. It was a fun and raucous session starting with a concert in which I played and the children sang along.