The rest of the time the second grader was all stoic seriousness - eyes cast down in concentration, brow furrowed as he guided his bow across the strings of a violin almost as big as he is. But he brought a smile to the faces of just about everyone who walked past. As part of a community project in his class at West Mercer Elementary School, he came up with the idea of playing his violin at Larry's Market and donating the proceeds to Northwest Harvest, which collects and distributes food to programs across the state. He toyed with the idea of cleaning up his Mercer Island neighborhood but decided that hunger and homelessness were tougher issues to tackle.
More people have more problems because of it.
Jeff said yesterday. Cleaning up is part of the problem, but starvation is more. After a nervous beginning, Jeff's playing grew more confident as people opened their pocketbooks. And whether it was the sunny weather, the music, philanthropy or guilt, Jeff had the right recipe for success. He's really good.