If It Were Up To Andy:

The Story of Andy Mackie

If it were up to Andy, he could rest peacefully knowing that his legacy will continue, that his foundation will thrive, and that the dream will live on.

The only dream Andy Mackie had left to realize, was the promise of his legacy going on without him. He wanted, more than anything, to know that he had done enough to inspire and compel others to continue on beyond him, and without him, for the sake of the music, for the sake of the children.

If only it were up to Andy...

If it were up to Andy Mackie, the world would be a very different place. It would be a place where children have an equal opportunity to feel and belong, to thrive and prosper.Every child would have a safe haven where he feels welcome and free to express himself without prejudice or shame. Every child would take from that opportunity what he seeks, and then pass this blessing along to the next, so that the chain of sharing and learning would span generations to come, effortlessly.

For Andy, that “place” is the peaceful, heart-filling, soul-soothing place we call music.

Andy’s story begins at age five ...

From the Archives:

Update on Andy

On March 21, 2011, Andy had cataract surgery to his right eye.  He was having increased difficulty with his vision and had been diagnosed with cataracts in both eyes.  Today the surgery was done on his right eye.  He is healing well.  On  Monday, March 28, 2011, Andy will have surgery on his left eye.  We are hoping that these surgeries will enable him to continue working with the children here in Michigan and supporting his programs back in Washington. the doctors give him a good prognosis.  Well wishes may be sent to the address listed in the contact section.

The schools in Michigan that he is currently working with are:  Concord Elementary School, Paragon Schools, Hanover/Horton High School,  and is working on getting into the Chelsea area schools.  If you are interested in participating in our music programs, please feel free to contact us.  We are more than willing to help spread the music!

On March 31, 2011, Andy had his second cataract surgery.  All went well and he is healing, and seeing better than he has in years.  Thanks for all the well wishes that were sent his way!

Modern Pied Piper Cheats Death

by Steve Hartman, CBS Evening News, May 1, 2009

 

Watch Andy mackie on CBS Assignment America here: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTZ1VUO5_xM

 

(CBS)  Every time 70-year-old Andy Mackie draws a breath, it's music to his ears - whether there's a harmonica there or not. As CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman reports, Mackie's just glad to be alive.

 

Mackie jokes, "I guess they don't need a harmonica player in heaven yet."

 

Mackie, a Scottish-born retired cattle farmer, lives in a camper in northwest Washington state - he lives there, even though technically -- medically -- he should have died long ago.  After his ninth heart surgery, Mackie's doctors had him on several different medicines. But the side effects made life miserable. So one day he quit taking them and decided to spend his final days doing something he always wanted to do.

 

He used the money he would have spent on the prescriptions to give away 300 harmonicas, with lessons included. "I really thought it was the last thing I could ever do," he says.  And when he didn't die the next month, he bought a few hundred more.  Harmonicas in hand, he explains, "I just started going from school to school."  It's now 11 years and 20,000 harmonicas later.

 

"I'll see a pregnant lady on the sidewalk and I'll give her a harmonica for the baby," he says as an example.

 

Today there's nary a kid in the county who hasn't gotten a free harmonica from Mackie, or played one of his strum sticks.

 

To keep the kids interested in music as they get older, Mackie now spends the bulk of his Social Security check making them beginner string instruments. He also buys store-made instruments for kids that show a special interest. He provides free lessons to everyone by getting the older kids to teach the younger kids.

 

Mackie says, "I tell them music is a gift, you give it away - you give it away and you get to keep it forever."

 

The end result is something truly unique to his corner of Washington. It seems everywhere you look, everyplace you go, every kid you meet has the same genuine passion for fiddle music.

 

"I can't explain the joy, Mackie says. "I don't think Bill Gates feels any richer inside than I do. He believes he's still living today because of the kids and the music.

 

And he doesn't expect any harmonica openings in heaven any time soon.

 

"I don't think the lord wants me yet, I still got something to do here -- lots more kids out there."

 

The Andy Mackie Music Foundation provides instruments, lessons & scholarships to children who want to learn to play music. The Foundation operates on donations from the public, non-governmental organizations and businesses. 

 

Through more than 14 years of dedication, the Andy Mackie Foundation (est. 1996) has enriched the lives of children, families & communities through music. The Foundation provides instruments & lessons to children to foster confidence and a sense of self. The Foundation also encourages children to perform in fundraising concerts which, together with grants & donations, provide the money for instruments, materials, lessons & scholarships to graduating seniors.

 

Andy has taught more than 20,000 children to play harmonica, mostly in public schools. His efforts were recognized in 2005 at the Northwest Folklife Festival where he set the Guinness World Record for the largest harmonica band ever to perform in one place.

 

His foundation has also helped more than a thousand children to play stringed instruments and has awarded 105 $500 scholarships to graduating high school seniors to be used toward continuing education. Currently, 5 high school shops in Clallam, Jefferson & Kitsap counties are building instruments for classes of younger students.

 

Music is Andy’s gift to the world.  You can help the Andy Mackie Music Foundation continue to touch countless young lives with the joyous gift of music, along with the lasting confidence and harmony it bestows in children’s lives.

 

See many more pictures at http://flickr.com/photos/andymackie/