Rising Stars: Meet Marilyn M Zeidner of AVON LAKE

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marilyn M Zeidner.

Hi Marilyn, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I was the Executive Director of the Lorain County domestic violence shelter for 24 years. We used music in several ways at the shelter. And I also was booking bands at the Savannah in Westlake, a blues club. So that helped me balance from my daytime. At the shelter, we had several innovative programs (at the time) for people with disabilities and abuse. I realized that there were many ways we could take the benefits of music to people with different needs of all ages. That is when I started Music on a Mission. We have 4 programs: Kids in Tune does music intervention for kids with disabilities in 7 school systems, we teach dance/movement to adults with developmental disabilities, and at a drop in center for people recovering from mental illness. A band plays music from the 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s monthly at the VA and several memory care centers and senior living facilities. DREW: Delivering Restorative Energy to our Warriors is a program for Veterans. I pair a Veteran one on one with a songwriter. The Veteran shares a story or experience and the songwriter repeats it in a song. It is recorded and serves as a lasting tribute to their service and place in history. So this is not MY story–but that of the skilled experts who actually do the work.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
We have been very fortunate to have dedicated professionals who actually do the work. We have 4 teachers who go to 23 classes a month in 7 school systems to do music intervention for kids with disabilities. The challenge for them is to find activities for each class when there are a wide variety of disabilities: some have goals of increased vocalization, while others have goals of increased mobility.
For the DREW program, typically Veterans do not want to talk about their service. But storytelling can provide them with power and agency. They need to talk about it and we need to hear it. We aim to connect the Veterans to each other and to us. Social support is a protective factor for suicide.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I was a teacher for 8 years, turned social worker. I started Music on a Mission before retiring from 24 years at the domestic violence shelter. So alongside M.O.M., I worked part time in a program to support survivors of suicide, and then in a pilot program to mentor kids who aged out of foster care. With M.O.M., I do the administrative/organizational work but the programs are successful because of the devoted and talented professionals who actually do the work. There is a barn on my property that has been renovated into a music venue, Barnegie Hall–all by volunteers. My husband, Jim Miraldi, was the one who initiated the renovations and now maintains it. We host 20-22 concerts a year where the proceeds help to support our programs. Jim also runs sound for the bands.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Music on a Mission started small. (It is still small!) Brainstorming with friends and/or board members brings up new ideas. I am always ready to try them. If they don’t work, we go a different way.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.musicmissioninc.com and www.projectdrew.org
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057746796211