news release

Remember how much you anticipated the arrival of each birthday when you were a child and how exciting it was to know that there was a special day that was just for celebrating you, complete with birthday cake? Now imagine how a birthday must feel for a child who living in a homeless shelter, knowing your birthday is going to be just another hard day in a very long string of them.

Until Little Birthday Angels came along in 2014 and began providing birthday bags to children in Treasure Coast homeless shelters, birthdays may have been just another hard day in a hard childhood. But there is simply no denying that there is something about receiving a complete surprise, especially a small party in a bag filled with essential items, gifts, and even cupcakes, that sparks hope, magic, and joy in any heart – especially a young one celebrating a birthday. That’s why the July Dyer Difference Award in Indian River County celebrates Little Birthday Angels and its efforts to make every child’s birthday special.

An extra, Dyer Difference Award and $3,000 donation was distributed this month through Dyer Mazda and was awarded to the Gifford Academy for Performing Arts. The organization, which started in 2003 with just a dozen students has grown into a full performing arts program with over 100 youth and adult lessons weekly.

Operating with loaned instruments and study materials while enrolled, students of all ages are also imbued with the organization’s “Each one teach one” philosophy. It has been widely-proven that learning to play a musical instrument helps to sharpen minds and focus, improve communication and literacy, develop discipline and teamwork, improve expressiveness and creatively and build confidence. According to the organization, 100 percent of the program’s 177 graduates have gone on to graduate from high school and attend college. This fall, local celebrity Hamp Elliott will be hosting the finals of the organization’s own We’ve Got Talent! with cash prizes and professional recording sessions on the line. Dyer Mazda is delighted to be part of helping to celebrate the unique and special talents of individuals of all ages throughout the Treasure Coast.

The Dyer Difference Award is all about celebrating the beauty and kindness in our midst. For the Dyer family and the members of the Dyer staff, the award and the typical $6,000 in donations made monthly between the St. Lucie and Indian River Counties are all about helping to make a positive difference in the community. For the recipients, it’s an acknowledgement of their tireless efforts to do the same and a much-needed financial boost to help further their missions. If you’d like to nominate a non-profit organization for the Dyer Difference Award, please visit http://www.dyerdifference.org or find Dyer Difference on Facebook.