For my first feature I am highlighting one of my very best friends, Gracie Schram. We met during high school when she was traveling back and forth to Nashville for music. I knew then that we would be great friends and always wished she lived closer. Who knew that fast forward a few years we would end up in college together at Belmont and be roomates! She is one of the best friends I have ever had and I firmly believe she is making a serious impact in the world. Roomate, best friend, world changer, musician and so much more, here is her story!
Gracie Schram is a singer, songwriter and philanthropist originally from Leawood, Kansas. She has been singing since she started talking and began writing songs when she was seven. Music has always been a big part of her life. When she was 10, she heard about the terrible living conditions in Africa and wanted to do something to help. She saw photos of eight and nine year old kids taking care of other kids and this made her think of her own siblings Lucy and Cooper and how hard it would be for her to take care of them by herself.
She was compelled to take action and do something about this horrible situation, so she went to her parents and asked “what if I made a CD to benefit the kids in Africa?” Her parents decided that they could try it and she ended up making her first CD in Kansas City when she was ten and this led to another when she turned twelve years old.
The CD’s were filled with songs she had written and she began to speak and sing around the. Kansas City area while selling the music to raise money for kids in Africa. This project grew to include more and more states until she was traveling, sharing songs and selling CDs all around the world. By selling each CD for around ten dollars, piece by piece she collected almost 50,000 dollars in sales. This allowed her to finance two fish farms in Africa, an orphanage in Haiti and a home in Colombia. Gracie visited Colombia and saw first hand the terrible living conditions of one family and this compelled her to share her funds to help build a new home for them. Gracie has jumped in every step of the way to ensure that her funds are meeting needs for people right where they are at. For her, it isn’t necessarily where it goes but what it does to help others in the most accessible and tangible way at the present time.
So you may be thinking how does this play into Kindness Starts With You? Kindness doesn’t always have to be of monetary significance but more a core belief. Gracie says kindness can look like raising money and helping kids in Africa or simply sitting with the kid at lunch that has no one to sit with. These acts are equally valuable no matter how big or how small they are, and each one changes the world. She believes spreading kindness and making a an impact looks different for everyone and should look different because we all have unique gifts and talents. Each of us can find ways to make someone’s day a little better and brighter with the things we have been given. We can all spread kindness and make a difference in whatever way that makes sense for us by using our gifts.
Gracie believes she is a musician, songwriter and philanthropist all intertwined together and she isn’t truly one without the other. They all work together and drive her to continuously give back by reminding others at every show that they can make a difference too. She continues to add to her fund for orphans that will be used for a project in the future. She believes that kindness can start with you in the little things and how you do these things TODAY; not tomorrow or next week but right here, right now. She believes reminding yourself and understanding we are all human and must see each other as people with unique lives and stories. This helps us have perspective, and change comes and where kindness begins!
If you want to learn more about Gracie Schram’s story, listen to her music and/or stay connected to what she is doing – click on the hyperlinks below!