If you’re looking for a fun way to spend September 12-13, 2015, consider spending some time at Vondriska Woodworks in Hammond, WI. Volunteers will spend two days assembling ten acoustic guitar kits, with completed guitars being donated to Guitars For Vets.
What skill level is required?
Don’t worry if you’ve never built a guitar before, there will be a spot for you. We’ll have Instructors running work stations and they’ll let you know what to do and how to do it. Volunteers remain at the work station, and the guitars rotate from station to station.
If you can only come for a portion of the two days, that’s fine. There will be a spot where you can participate.
What is Guitars For Vets all about?
G4V was started in Milwaukee in 2007 by a returned Vietnam vet, Dan Van Buskirk, and a guitar teacher, Patrick Nettesheim. Dan noticed that lots of his post-war anxiety dissipated while he was playing guitar, and Dan and Patrick decided to pass this benefit along to other vets. Today the program provides an acoustic guitar and ten lessons for vets suffering from PTSD. Since their start in 2007 G4V has provided over 2,000 guitars and 20,000 lessons at 50 chapters across the country. Learn more about G4V here: www.guitars4vets.org.
The kits
We’ll be using kits from U.S. Guitar Kits www.usguitarkits.com for this project. They provide just the right balance between work we need to do and work that’s already been done to allow us to get the work done in two days.
Wherever possible we add personal touches, including asking volunteers to sign the back of every guitar we build.
What should I bring?
You don’t need to bring a thing. We’ll have safety glasses, and lunch, available for you. However, if you own some specialized guitar making tools (we seem to always be short of bridge clamps and fret files), it would be helpful for us if you brought them.
Thanks to generous sponsorship from Titebond Glue there are no out of pocket expenses for G4V or any of the volunteers attending this event. The Build is also getting help from WWGOA, U.S. Guitar Kits, Pony Tools, SawStop, Hudson Hospital, General Finishes, Stewart MacDonald, Rockler, and Sauer and Company Veneers. Thanks!
If you play an instrument, bring it along. We find plenty of time for impromptu jam sessions during the two days.
Can you see your way to helping us out?
If so, we’re looking forward to seeing you September 12-13. Any questions, fire them off to George Vondriska, George@gvwood.com, or Krista Demuth, krista.demuth@yahoo.com.
I just found this project for building guitars for vets. Are you doing this again in 2016? if so, any info you have on it would be great. Thanks, Scott
When is the next build? Anything I can help with until the next build?
Hey George! It's been awhile since the last build. Have you learned to pick the "Folsom Blues" yet? LOL I'll be there to help out. What time do we start? Wayne Tobeck
Im only 60 or 70 miles away, I'll try to find time to come, sounds like a fun couple of days and would look forward to meeting everybody.
Are there any of these workshops in Louisville, KY.?
What a wonderful idea! I forwarded this to a guitar player friend in Appleton, WI. I hope he goes!
This sounds like a lot of fun and I am looking forward to it!