Happy New Year 2016

 

We are off to a great start with ukuleles donated by LA Women in music
and gig bags from the Guitar Center through our Grant
from the Friars Charitable Foundation. 

Thanks to great musicians Todd Tatum, Fred Sokolow, Howie Anderson

We love our Lanikai Ukuleles. So easy for the kids to hold and learn how to play.
They really love learning and creating sound together. 

Looking forward to another great year of music.

Happy New Year 2015

We ended 2014 with a visit with the kids at Children of the Night on December 30. 

What an honor to share time with these kids who are truly starting off a New Year of change and hope for a brighter future through the help of Dr Lois Lee and her wonderful staff.

It is a very difficult thing to make changes in our life, even for the best of us, but for a young girl who has been on the streets and suffered unimaginable stress and terrifying circumstances, it takes a very special approach to create a safe and healing environment.  They indeed need a place such as Children of the Night. 

Through many years of working with teens at runaway shelters, drug treatment programs, probation camps and other agencies assisting troubled youth and families, we have found music to be the key to opening the door to communication. It provides a non-threatening environment to bring us all together and even the toughest group responds to a group of excellent musicians who can play just about any song they request. 

 

Most of all they need adults who are

Caring

Non-judgemental

Listening

Good role models

Dependable 

Nurturing

Tough when it is needed

We all need to know we are loved and appreciated

We all want to have hope for the future 
Wishing everyone a wonderful and Happy New Year

 

 

You must believe to ACHIEVE!!
 BELIEVING is the key...

 Happy New Year Everyone!

Follow your dreams and when others tell you it can't be done...Give them a smile and say " Just Watch Me!"

Our job is to inspire and motivate and be good role models for those we work with. If we don't believe in ourselves, how can we expect to inspire others to do so. Special Angel is all about believing in your possibilities.

We are excited to be entering 2014, the year we will celebrate our 20 year anniversary in July. Stay connected and watch for more on how we will celebrate this very special anniversary.

Many thanks to the many agencies we have worked with over the years, especially Lois Lee, her staff and the kids at Children of the Night.

Thankful For the Music ~ And the Magic of  the Lyrics!

The Holiday season is almost here. We have so many reasons to be thankful for all we have had the privilege of doing over the past year. Music remains present in our lives. So many good feelings come from the music. 

One of our favorite songs to sing is "I Can See Clearly Now" 

The words have great meaning and we use it when working with the teens and families we work with at various agencies. 

Think about what these words mean as you read the lyrics to this great song. 

I Can See Clearly Now

Johnny Nash

I can see clearly now the rain is gone
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me down
It's gonna be a bright bright bright bright sun shiny day
It's gonna be a bright bright bright bright sun shiny day

Oh yes I can make it now the pain is gone
All of the bad feelings have disappeared
Here is that rainbow I've been praying for
It's gonna be a bright bright bright bright sun shiny day

Look all around there's nothing but blue skies
Look straight ahead there's nothing but blue skies

I can see clearly now the rain is gone
I can see all obstacles in my way
Here is that rainbow I've been praying for
It's gonna be a bright bright bright bright sun shiny day
It's gonna be a bright bright bright bright sun shiny day

We are thankful for the magic of music and the opportunity to share it with so many. Thanks to our wonderful musicians for all they do.

Watch for the rainbows in life and believe in the power of music!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all friends far and near!

Looking Back and Moving Forward

"I'm not afraid of storms, for I'm learning to sail my ship."
~ Louisa May Alcott
 

It has been said that looking back is not a good thing. The past is the past and can't be changed. I believe it's good to look back occasionally, merely for the purpose of seeing how far we have come. 

In 1988 I was living in South Carolina with my husband Marty and two children. Our daughter Kelly was hitting the rebellious teen years full throttle and I was torn between my nursing career or heading off to Nashville. I lost my focus right when Kelly needed me the most.

During that time, I saw Lois Lee, Director of Children of the Night, on TV.  I was inspired by her  commitment to helping teen runaways in Hollywood. I knew I would meet her some day... 

 Kelly, Lois Lee, Suzanne and Kelly's daughter Alie -
Volunteer Recognition Children of the Night 2007
Van Nuys, CA

When we were going through those tough teen years in South Carolina, we could have easily given up. I had to learn how to communicate better with a teenager who would not listen and most conversations ended up with slamming doors and hurt feelings. I had clearly lost touch.

As we started singing together our communication improved and I began to see the healing power of music. Discussing the lyrics I was writing and asking for Kelly's input in the songs created a safe zone for us to communicate.

When we  moved to California in 1990, I made a call to Lois Lee asking if we could come to Children of the Night and sing for the kids. The positive response to that first visit turned into an organization that has now worked with thousands of teens and families.

Back on Hilton Head, so many years ago, I could not have imagined how far we would travel using music to improve communication and now Kelly has a daughter of her own who has joined us in helping others....But life is full of surprises and messages on the path to your passion and purpose. So the next time you feel down and perhaps a little frustrated with what is going on in your life, look back to a harder time and see how far you've come.

 Alie, Kelly and Suzanne ~ California 2013

If you are wondering how Kelly and I made it through those teen years and started singing together, you can read our story and share the journey we have taken with the kids, the band and the lessons learned along the way.
 
The book "Some Day It Will Matter" and our music can be found at www.specialangel.com

All proceeds go to SpecialAngel Inc.  This enables us to bring our program free of charge to agencies helping teens and families.
 

Me and Bruce and 60,000 others - Hyde Park London

On the evening of July 14, 2012, I had a magical and uplifting experience with music at the center and Bruce Springsteen as the pied piper who brought 60,000 people together as one group united in the sheer joy of the moment. In London for 10 days, I called  my son's friend Dan Devita, who works with TKO/London. He invited me and my husband Marty to an evening concert. Dan arranged to get us on the guest list. It had been raining every day since we arrived, so the ground was thoroughly wet and the ground was so muddy, they shipped in tons of wood chips to place all over the grounds.

Carefully walking through the muddy
grounds, we met up with Dan who brought us up to a roped off VIP area with an elevated platform which gave us an awesome viewpoint and the rest was magic. What struck me most was hearing the different accents and languages being spoken around me.
The crowd was massive but totally respectful and polite. The music started and everyone moved with it. Bruce brought us all together as he played through his set list like it was the most fun he ever had and though the crowd was large, he seemed to connect with each of us as if we were all old friends. But weren't we?

 

Through the memories each song brought out, didn't we all know him and he us? Isn't that what great music is all about? When you hear a song and relate to it as if it was written especially for you? Yes!

 Thank you Bruce - for reminding me of the awesome power of music to bring people of all nationalities and backgrounds together as one. That night turned the flame up a little brighter in my soul and reminded me why I love using music to help kids and the awesome power it brings with it to heal, to inspire and to bring us all together. Special Angel Inc. has you as a role model of how it's done........plain and simple, with joy and sincerity...straight from the heart - you truly are The Boss!!

Many thanks to Dan Devita for a great evening with Bruce!!

Never ending energy!

Here we are jumping into a beautiful springtime in Southern California and Special Angel is on the move. Good things planned for the future. Our new website is almost ready!! We will have our book ready for downloading from most e-book sites soon. Be sure to sign up on our website for the mailing list if you are not on it so we can keep you informed.

This weekend,Marty and I have had the pleasure of watching Ryan and Kyle and Alie while Kelly and Rob are in Las Vegas celebrating Kelly's birthday. Alie has been texting back and forth with Kelly asking if she is having fun and the boys have been playing with their toys and putting leggos together making a train. They are 3 now and learning to share with each other. Alie is 10 and wants to be a singer so she is learning new songs to sing with us for our next visit to Children of the Night.

I am reminded of the simple things that make life special like the smile on a child's face when they see you first thing in the morning and how good it is to just sit in the rocker with them on your lap while you talk about the day ahead. "What do you want to do today?" answer..."Let's take a ride. Let's blow bubbles .Let's do this. Let's do that. Never ending energy...........love it!! Enjoy the ride........It's worth it!