ST. PETERSBURG (FOX 13) - Christmas is coming early for a local elementary school thanks to the generosity of a local non-profit.
David Cox is excited about bringing musical instruments to students at Melrose Elementary in St. Pete.
"The reward is to see the look on the kid's face when they get to make music for the first time," Cox said.
He runs the Recycled Tunes Program for the Gasparilla Music Foundation. They started the initiative seven years ago.
The foundation buys musical instruments for Bay Area elementary schools that can't afford them.
"We hope that we can at least help stop the bleeding a little bit by being able to supplement some of these programs," Cox explained.
Nia'sia Medley has been playing for two years and is glad to have her own keyboard.
"It's cool and it can actually help me learn more about music and how to play it," Medley said.
Music teacher Kevin Parrott says the keyboards will be an invaluable tool for the students.
"This really allows the kids to learn music. Music theory, learn piano and actually have their own keyboard," Parrott said.
The program is enriching the lives of children by ensuring access to musical instruments. The group has place 376 instruments in 24 Bay Area schools.