Pi Guitars are looking to the community to help support their mission in building guitars from recycled materials to donate to worthy causes.
Gavin Pond has 30 years’ experience making guitars and teaching people from all walks of life. He met Pam Brown whilst teaching at a school, and the pair joined forces to create Practical Intelligence in 2009, a workshop dedicated to inspiring confidence and self-belief.
One of the projects run from the workshop is Pi Guitars, where instruments are built by volunteers under Gavin’s guidance. Pam seeks sponsorship for the guitars to enable them to be donated to places such as Eastwood Park Prison and Young Offender Institution and rehabilitation centre The Nelson Trust.
Speaking to MYLOCALnews, Gavin said: “When you contribute positively to the world, it is really good for your mental health and gives you a sense of pride. This is what we aim to give to the volunteers.”
The venture has been sponsored by a variety of organisations and individuals, such as NHS ‘One Gloucestershire Integrated Care System’ and Window Service and Repair in Watford.
In February this year, the team crafted a guitar from scratch in just 12 hours, before handing it over to Billy Bragg. The singer-songwriter then performed a two-hour concert in front of 200 people using the instrument.
Gavin continued: “We are often given recycled wood that people think can’t be used as it has screw holes. But we all have imperfections, and that doesn’t make us any less beautiful. So we take that wood, and we make a feature out of it.
“It’s been recycled and we should be proud of that!”
Each guitar costs £1,000 in sponsor money. To find out how you can get involved, head to www.practicalintelligence.org.uk
0 Comments