A Gift for Music and a Heart for Children

The Annie Moses Band uses their talents to help orphaned and vulnerable children in Holt’s programs. 

Annie Wolaver, lead singer and violinist, steps onto the stage. Her violin tucked comfortably under her chin, a microphone placed in front of her, she begins to play.  Encompassing Annie are her two brothers, Alex and Benjamin, and two sisters, Gretchen and Camille — each holding instruments of their own. Together, these Julliard-trained siblings make up the Annie Moses Band, a folk and classical music group founded in 2001 by their parents, Bill and Robin Wolaver.

Just before intermission, as the audience begins to shuffle in their seats, a photo of a little girl appears on the screen above the stage. Annie introduces Zoe — her 9-year-old sister, adopted from China — and explains to the audience how generous sponsors helped Zoe thrive while she waited to come home to a loving family… her family.

Zoe joined the Wolaver family through Holt’s China adoption program in 2014. But Holt’s partnership with the Annie Moses Band actually began two years earlier, when they began sharing Holt’s vision of a world where every child has a loving and secure home. As Holt artists, the band encourages their audience members to take action by signing up to sponsor a child.

“I’d wanted to adopt for a long time when we were first made aware of Holt,” Robin says. “So our interest in partnering with [Holt] through our concerts was piqued.”

Since Zoe became their little sister, the band members have found new meaning in their efforts to find sponsors for orphaned and vulnerable children. “We saw in Zoe’s life what a huge difference sponsorship made,” Annie says. At just 10 months old, Zoe came into the care of a Holt foster family, who nurtured her with the monthly support of a Holt sponsor.  “They transformed her,” Robin says of Zoe, who has cerebral palsy.  “Considering her special needs, I don’t think she would have survived without Holt and the compassion of Holt sponsors. They saved her.”

The band’s heartfelt message — inspired by Zoe’s adoption — is clearly making an impact. Over the past four years, over 700 individuals have committed to sponsoring a child at an Annie Moses Band concert.

“When a person says, ‘I’m giving 75 cents a day to support a life,’ it’s incredible,” Annie says. “In the here and now, that means that a child may get a roof over their head, and food and clothes. But in the larger perspective, you will see generations changed forever.”

Ashli Keyser | Staff Writer