Our Story

Using Music To Cope

In 2013, Corey Bergman, a life-long musician, began volunteering at local hospitals in Miami, Florida as a way of coping with the tragic loss of his son, Jared. As he played guitar for young patients and their families, he says, “I could plainly see that the act of listening to and playing music, and holding an instrument, has a deep positive effect on a child. All the anxiety and fear of the hospital just fades away and this kid becomes a kid again.

Then, two developments quickly brought the future UKC sharply into focus. First, Corey connected with music therapists at Miami Children’s Hospital, Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital and others, and gained exposure to the field of music therapy. Through music therapy, certified professionals help patients use music to achieve clinical goals, which in the case of young children might include lowering anxiety and stress, improving vital signs, and a multitude of other results. Second, the simplicity and small size of the ukulele made it seem like the ideal vehicle for music therapy with even the smallest patients. In 2014, Corey and his wife Edda incorporated the UKC. Its mission was, and remains, to support music therapy for hospitalized children, by giving children a ukulele to use during their hospital stay, and to keep when they go home. Each year, the UKC delivers thousands of ukuleles, to a growing network of more than 200 hospitals in the U.S. and in North America, Europe and Asia.

Meet Our Founders

Corey Bergman

Corey Bergman founded the Ukulele Kids Club Inc. in 2014 . In his TEDx Coconut Grove talk “Music Heals“, Corey explains how music helps and inspires, even in the toughest times. Watch “Music Heals” on YouTube

Edda Bergman

Founder

Senior Manager, Talent Business Advisor for Deloitte Services LP, retired.

Ambassadors

JOSHUA TURCHIN

Ambassadors

CELINE JOSE

Ambassadors

RYDER TIPLITSKY

Ambassadors

CHARLOTTE BISHOP

Ambassadors

National Board Of Directors

Our board members are the fiduciaries who steer Ukulele Kids Club Inc. towards a sustainable future by adopting sound, ethical, and legal governance and financial management policies, as well as making sure that we have adequate resources to advance our mission.

Marlén Rodriguez-Wolfe

Chief Executive Officer

M.M Music Therapist

Tom Bales

Board Chairman

President Symbiosis Foundation

Casper Casparian

Vice-Chair

Owner at CMC, LLC Strategic Marketing Communications

Lynda B. Scearcy

Treasurer

MST, CPA Member of the Board of Directors at Bank of the Sierra BSRR

Meg Kerr

Secretary

Judge of Compensation Claims, Miami District Division of Administrative Hearings

Steven Burghart

Director

President SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital Saint Louis, MO

Connie Ryan

Director

Registered Nurse RN, BSN
TEDx Organizer Volunteer

Jay Lichty

Director

Luthier, Lichty Guitars

Ann Hannan

Director

Director, Riley Cheer Guild and Music Therapy MT-BC Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health Affiliate Faculty, Charles Warren Fairbanks Center for Medical Ethics