Welcome to Rhythm For Hope

Using Music To Aid Community Development

Musicians unite to raise money for instruments and music education for at risk children in impoverished countries.

Our mission is: to generate funds from concerts and other fundraising events, to enable us to use music as a vehicle for learning and development for at risk children, in third world countries.
Our aim is: to provide musical instruments, a safe learning environment, educational programs, and train musicians to become teachers.

Company Objects: To make available musical education, musical instruments and music-related programs and activities for the benefit of impoverished and or/at risk children in various countries internationally including (but not limited to) the Company’s initial areas of activity in Malawi and Zimbabwe, as to provide a positive educative influence in such areas regardless of the social and/or economic status of the individuals in question. Click here to read more...

Rhythm for Hope is a Community Interest Company raising funds to deliver music education and training to ‘at risk’ children in third world countries.

Patricia Taylor-Shipley: Was born in North Lincolnshire England in the home town of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. Patricia is postgraduate student of Psychology and is an accomplished business consultant. In a nutshell, her career runs from her early years in administration, through to various senior executive roles. Patricia has spent time in Bangladesh working for an International Christian school as Vice Principal of Business Management, where she experienced firsthand the abject poverty of children on the street and in slums.

"Since leaving Bangladesh I have had a yearning to help at risk children and hence my reason for setting up Rhythm for Hope. I believe there is a cry coming from hundreds of millions of children suffering on the earth today. While in Bangladesh, I was moved deeply at the sheer scale of so many children suffering and there is a desire that burns in my heart, to respond to the cry of some of these children wherever they may live. Music is a great passion of mine and I believe it is a universal language which can help promote community development. I have dreams of building music schools for children on the streets and in orphanages, to bring them together with children in the community – to give them hope of a future.

It is my intention to raise funds by hosting a series of concerts and events to raise money for at risk children in impoverished countries. One of the aims of Rhythm for Hope, (among many) is to raise money for musical instruments and fund music programs for street children and children in orphanages. Music is a great passion of mine and I believe it is a universal language which can help promote community development. I have dreams of building music schools for at risk children to bring them together with children in the community, to aid development."

Doyle Lightfoot: Born in Savannah, GA, Doyle began playing guitar at his mom's insistence to take up a musical instrument after they moved to Atlanta. His early musical influences aside from Eric Clapton and the Beatles etc, were his mother's gospel piano, his grandmother's ragtime piano, and his father's love of the big band sounds. Five years later, after the beginning of a series of hit and miss guitar lessons , due to his mother's illness, he started his first band at fourteen. The Top Forty seventies rock style they performed, kept them busy playing high schools and private parties. Toward the end of the seventies Doyle became 'burned out' and started searching for change. Change came in the form of Christianity and into the early eighties he started living on a boat in an occasional solitary manner. Soon after, he discovered finger picking, some banjo and then Chet Atkins, Merle Travis, Jerry Reed, Lenny Breau and others. He has spent countless hours since then refining this style into a sound that is uniquely his own. He has assisted churches in developing their musical programs and played on multiple Christian Crusade tours that spanned three continents. Studio and theatre credits earned him recognition as an arranger, director, and artist and Doyle has taught music theory and guitar in private and group lessons including his work with the Boy's and Girl's Club of America.

Doyle is an accomplished guitar picker and attributes much of his style from the late Chet Atkins. He is a recognised arranger, director and artist as well as having taught music theory and guitar in private and group lessons.