Born With It 

Music great, Ray Charles is famous for the following quote, “I was born with music inside me. Music was one of my parts. Like my ribs, my kidneys, my liver, my heart. Like my blood.”

It is believed Ray Charles began playing the piano between the ages of 3-5.  He lost his sight at age 7 due to glaucoma. 

His mother, Aretha Robinson used her community connections to find a school that would accept an African American student.

In the beginning, Charles didn’t want to attend the school. He did however relent and attended the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine from 1927 to 1945.

While there he learned to play a variety of instruments, the piano, alto saxophone, clarinet, trumpet and organ. He would place his focus on the organ. 

It is so exciting and powerful when we at Girls and Boys of Character have the privilege and opportunity to witness the many gifts, skills and talents on the inside of the children.

You know the thing they are born with, the things on the inside of them, like Ray Charles spoke about. 

When we have those precious moments, we cherish them.  We also build upon them.

For instance, one of our older mentees enjoys taking time to teach the younger ones. 

She often times asks if she can help the others with their homework or lessons. 

In our efforts of promoting one of our pillars; responsibility, we encourage her to do so. 

Follow Up

After she assists them, we give them time during our sessions to share with the group, what the homework/lesson was.  She sometimes quizzes the younger students to see if they have retained the lesson.

The benefits:

This gives us all the opportunity to learn something new. 

Both children experience as sense of accomplishment.

The other children become more engaged. 

We invite you to continue reading our blogs.

The gifts, skills and talents they are born with are used. 

Also, we welcome you to donate to our trip in August, 2025.  We are taking the children to visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC. 

Photo credit: Barbara Young