Volunteer spotlight
Claudia Zorn Schaefer is a very special Friend to the Gardens. To mark her one-year “cancerversary” she created a special ode to the Gardens with original music and lyrics, entitled "Reynolda Gardens: Our Special Place” as a way to help support the Gardens and bring attention to the place that has helped so many find peace and respite. The piece was created in collaboration with the Creative Center of North Carolina, Inc., (CCNC) and its founder, J.D. Wilson, who is also a longtime friend of Reynolda. Claudia’s project began in late May, two months into COVID-19 restrictions and nearly a year into her own quarantine. “I've been so grateful that, even throughout my chemotherapy treatments, I've been able to enjoy long walks at Reynolda Gardens, 130-acres of historic landscape, including formal gardens, trails, and green space that’s free and open to the public from dawn until dusk.” Claudia said she started mulling over how to help the Gardens make up for lost pandemic revenue during her daily walk with her boxer, Kruger, when she spoke with Jon Roethling (also a boxer parent!) about the closure of the Garden Boutique.
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As Kruger and I continued to walk that day, we saw lots of people of all ages enjoying the Gardens: people walking their dogs, friends picnicking, adults and children riding their bicycles, people enjoying the trails. With COVID-19 restrictions, we're all looking for a safe outlet. A special haven. A refuge,” she said. “Our walk that day inspired me to do something to bring more attention to Reynolda Gardens.” Claudia decided to create a slideshow of Gardens visuals set to a piece of music she had written, and, when encouraged by her friend J.D., decided to take it a step further and compose a new piece of music for the project. J.D. provided many of the images used in the video and recruited Broadway star Joshua Morgan (UNCSA Drama’09) to perform and record the new song from his home in NYC. Everyone at Reynolda is extremely grateful to Claudia, J.D., and all who helped to make this original labor of love so near and dear to Claudia’s heart come to life. View “Reynolda Gardens: Our Special Place” on YouTube at https://bit.ly/LoveReynoldaGardens. To access the sheet music, visit bit.ly/RGSheetMusic2
