Deborah Douek, Patient Experience Coordinator with Sing for Hope Co-Founders Camille Zamora and Monica Yunus

 

DECEMBER 8, 2023 (NEW YORK, NY) — The Amazin’ Mets Foundation and Sing for Hope celebrated the culmination of their first year of partnership with the placement of two new Sing for Hope Pianos in permanent community locations in Brooklyn and Queens. 

The Sing for Hope Pianos were available for public play throughout the entire baseball season on game days at Citi Field in Queens and Maimonides Park in Brooklyn. The instruments were created by acclaimed portrait artist Carling Jackson, in collaboration with Sing for Hope staff, and brought to vivid life at The Sing for Hope Pianos Studio at 28 Liberty in Lower Manhattan. The New York Mets-inspired Sing for Hope Piano entitled Diversity Is Our Strength features a community-driven concept symbolizing the youngest generation of Mets fans and future players. The design also features flags representing the international melting pot of Citi Field’s neighborhood in Queens, one of the nation’s most culturally diverse communities. The Brooklyn Cyclones-themed Sing for Hope Piano entitled Brooklyn Buddies shows a panoramic image of Coney Island, complete with young fans and the iconic Parachute Jump against the setting sun.

Attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn were Sing for Hope Co-Founders Monica Yunus and Camille Zamora, Maimonides Patient Experience Coordinator/ Healing Arts Deborah Douek, Patient Experience Coordinator Nevil Parmar, Patient Representative Malkie Gips, Manager Beatrice Egrovich, Doula Yaffa Bochner, Nurse Manager Luis Medina, Administrative Fellow Robert Kamin, Lead Patient Experience Coordinator Dawn Farina, Patient Experience Coordinator of Maternity Services Lauren Demetroulakos, and Patient Experience Coordinator Andy Marcillo. For an appreciative audience of medical staff, caregivers, patients, and family members, a celebratory violin-piano duo concert of Classical, Jazz, and Musical Theater hits was performed by Sing for Hope Artist Partner Riko Higuma and Director of Community Arts Victoria Paterson.

“On behalf of Maimonides Medical Center, I would like to express our utmost appreciation for the generous piano donation,” said Dr. Nicole Kirchhoffer, Patient Experience Officer. “We are hopeful that having this incredible instrument available will help us integrate music into the healthcare setting. Additionally, the musical performances provided by Sing for Hope this past year have helped foster a transformative and healing experience for patients and their families, as well as staff.”

Deborah Douek, Patient Experience Coordinator, had this moving experience to share: “We have truly seen miracles happen when Sing for Hope’s musicians come to our patients’ bedsides. For example, recently, there was a patient who had not been responsive for several weeks. When the musicians started playing, the monitors started going off, and I got a little nervous. And then the nurse said, ‘This is a good thing!’ The doctors came and the patient woke up and started tapping along with the music. The doctors were floored. They could not believe that this patient had responded to the music! There was not a dry eye anywhere. It was so beautiful.”

“We’re so thrilled to be here with the wonderful Maimonides Medical Center community today at a moment when our world can really benefit from a bit of hope and harmony. Sing for Hope is deeply grateful to the Amazin’ Mets Foundation for its transformative support of our Community Arts, Public Health & Wellbeing, and Education initiatives. It has been a joy to witness the launch of our partnership over the past year, and it has exceeded our expectations in terms of impact!” said Monica Yunus, Sing for Hope Co-Founder and opera singer.

"We at Sing for Hope are so moved by the Amazin’ Mets Foundation’s commitment to community, which extends to all corners of all five boroughs, with particular emphasis on the institutions—like Maimonides Medical Center—that care for New Yorkers and make NYC great. This Sing for Hope Pianos will live on at Maimonides as a symbol of harmony, innovation, and connection for the healthcare community. Furthermore, thanks to the Amazin’ Mets Foundation, Sing for Hope continues to be a leader in employing NYC’s greatest creative asset, our professional artist community, in public arts programs that change lives,” said Sing for Hope Co-Founder and opera singer Camille Zamora.

The Brooklyn Cyclones-themed Sing for Hope Piano entitled Brooklyn Buddies will reside permanently at Maimonides Medical Center and will be available for public play beginning November 15, 2024, in the hospital’s lobby. Its “piano sibling,”  New York Mets-inspired Sing for Hope Piano entitled Diversity Is Our Strength will soon be placed at Queens Transition Center P752Q at Gateway High School, where it will be utilized by the school’s music department.

The Sing for Hope Pianos program was founded in New York City in 2010 and has since grown to become one of the world’s largest annually recurring public arts programs. With more than 600 original piano artworks created to date, The Sing for Hope Pianos bring hope, healing, and shared musical experiences to communities across the globe.

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About Sing for Hope 

Sing for Hope harnesses the power of the arts to create a better world. Our creative programs bring hope, healing, and connection to millions of people in hospitals, schools, care facilities, refugee camps, transit hubs, and community spaces worldwide. A non-profit organization founded in New York City in response to the events of 9/11, Sing for Hope partners with hundreds of community-based organizations, mobilizes thousands of artists in creative service, and produces artist-created Sing for Hope Pianos across the U.S. and around the world. The official Cultural Partner of the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, Sing for Hope champions art for all because we believe the arts have an unmatched capacity to uplift, unite, and heal. Learn more at singforhope.org.

About Maimonides Health

Maimonides Health is Brooklyn’s largest healthcare system, serving over 300,000 patients each year through the system’s 3 hospitals, 1,800 physicians and more than 80 community-based practices and outpatient centers. The system is anchored by Maimonides Medical Center, one of the nation’s largest independent teaching hospitals and home to centers of excellence in numerous specialties; Maimonides Midwood Community Hospital (formerly New York Community Hospital), a 130-bed adult medical-surgical hospital; and Maimonides Children’s Hospital, Brooklyn’s only children’s hospital and only pediatric trauma center. Maimonides’ clinical programs rank among the best in the country for patient outcomes, including its Heart and Vascular Institute, Neurosciences Institute, Bone and Joint Center, and Cancer Center. Maimonides is an affiliate of Northwell Health and a major clinical training site for SUNY Downstate College of Medicine. For additional information, please visit www.maimo.org.

About the Amazin’ Mets Foundation

The Amazin’ Mets Foundation was founded in 2021 and is the philanthropic arm of the New York Mets. It is committed to providing needed services and opportunities to children, families, and under-served groups in neighborhoods and communities near Citi Field, the Mets home ballpark. Learn more at amazinmetsfoundation.org or follow @amazinmetsfdn on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.