June 28, 2020 | Press Coverage
LOS ANGELES, June 29, 2020–Children’s Music Fund (CMF), a non-profit that helps sick children heal through music therapy, announces the appointment of Ellee Kennedy, Miss Naples, as its first CMF Kids Ambassador. This new role will be instrumental in being a voice and representative for all the children with life-altering illnesses that the organization helps by providing music therapy services on their journey to a better quality of life.
In her role as CMF Kids Ambassador, Miss Naples will raise awareness about music therapy and educate on its evidence-based healing benefits for children with conditions such as cancer, mental illness, rare diseases, autism, and blood disorders. She will lend her personal support to our CMF Kids and co-chair several new projects to further build the CMF Kids community and participate in fundraising.
“I am thrilled to be the first CMF Kids Ambassador for Children’s Music Fund,” said Ellee Kennedy, Miss Naples. “Music is truly what got me through my 12 years of medical treatments, and I am passionate to ensure each child in my position has the same creative and musical resources I had.”
Alongside her work with Children’s Music Fund, Miss Naples has also devised the ‘Putting the A in S.T.E.M’ initiative to educate and advocate for the use of music therapy in patients’ treatment plans. More information on her social impact effort is found here: @MusicTherapy4STEAM.
“Miss Naples is a great inspiration to our CMF Kids going through medical treatments and needing to manage their pain, fear and anxiety. Her passion for the awareness of music therapy attests that she will make a valuable contribution to our organization,” said Raffi Tachdjian, MD, MPH, Founder and President of Children’s Music Fund. “Having a CMF Kids Ambassador on our team is incredibly significant for Children’s Music Fund as we continue to increase awareness and expand the reach of our cause through the publishing of evidence-based research and providing more hours of music therapy to help our CMF Kids now and in the future.”
Miss Naples, is part of the Miss America Organization and represents Naples county in Florida. She will be competing for Miss Florida in 2021. At a young age, Miss Naples was diagnosed with hypogammaglobulinemia, a rare blood condition where she was required to receive IVIG blood infusions every three weeks for 12 years. During her time undergoing treatments and a strenuous recovery process as a sixth-grade student, she found comfort in exploring her passion for music and even went on to earn a bachelor’s of Music in Music Business and Classical Singing from the University of Miami, Frost School of Music. Read her bio here. Learn more about her life story and medical journey here. View her video introduction here.
About the Children’s Music Fund
Children’s Music Fund helps children with chronic or life-altering illnesses, such as different forms of cancer, blood disorders, lung/heart/kidney disease, autism, and immune-deficiencies to improve their quality of life through music therapy. Engaging children in music therapy helps reduce pain, fear, and anxiety, and provides a much needed distraction from their conditions. The organization supports research on music therapy and uses evidence-based data to further innovate the field and work to integrate music with medicine. Children’s Music Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Learn more at www.thecmf.org and follow on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.