About Angel Harps
Founded in 2003, Angel Harps has helped hundreds of children with disabilities ranging from Multiple Sclerosis to ADHD by providing healing harps to assist them in their healing process. The organization was started on a shoestring and the Founder, Dianna Woodley, even sold some of her own personal keepsakes to buy a $600 harp to give to the first recipient. Many have supported the mission and vision of Angel Harps including Dwight Blevins, of Blevin’s Harps in Colorado who designed a special 15 string lap harp that was easy for children with disabilities to play. It has been a long road with many challenges; but with the support and generosity of huge companies like Kohl’s Department Stores, as well as local businesses who donate regularly and sponsor the Annual Benefit Concert, Angel Harps is still growing and giving.
In 2005, Angel Harps donated their first harp to a deserving child with Down’s syndrome. In 2007, Angel Harps donated a harp to the Castle Park Middle School’s Special Education Department. These unique harps cost $800 each and come with personal instruction, a case and tuner. A beautiful angel is inscribed on each harp. Healing harp music has been found to assist in pain and stress relief as well as assisting in improving the quality of life for all those who hear it and play it.
"Dwight Blevins, owner of Blevins Harps, said Woodley's devotion to her cause inspired him to create a small, 15-string harp that can be laid flat on the lap or placed on a small table or chair for playing. The strings are nylon and can be strummed or plucked with one or both hands." Excerpted from the San Diego Union Tribune. (Read the entire article here.)
If you would like to purchase one of our harps for yourself or someone you love, we charge $100 above our Blevins wholesale cost for the year. Contact us for more information.
Angel Harps is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.
Please help us to help more children every year by donating today!
For photos, interviews, or more information about Angel Harps, please call Dianna Woodley at 619-422-0209.
About the Founder, Dianna Woodley
In August of 2001, Dianna Woodley’s life was drastically altered when she was diagnosed with a debilitating foot condition. She went from an active life to one of constant pain and a wheelchair. Dianna’s story might have ended there, but she learned of a therapy that used harp music to heal. Though she could only afford a small portion of the therapy, the results were astounding. She began playing the harp and experienced an almost total recovery. “I'm a walking example of what healing music can do.”
Dianna will be the first to say – emphatically – “It’s not about me; it’s about the kids.” And, she has always found ways of giving back to her community. In 1998 Dianna received a Channel 10 Leadership Award for her work with a children’s school. During her recovery process using sound healing with harps, Dianna dreamed of sharing her healing experience with disabled children. In 2003, she established a non-profit organization called Angel Harps, whose mission is to distribute free healing harps to children with disabilities.
To get the organization off the ground, Dianna rolled in her wheelchair to over 200 homes in her neighborhood asking for donations and almost every single family gave something. Dianna says, “When we gave away our first harp to Rosie, a child with Down’s syndrome, it was he absolute joy I saw on her face that day and the miracle of her smile that keeps me doing what I do.”
Miracles big and small are a daily part of Dianna Woodley’s life and she is looking to create more everyday – not just in San Diego but all over the country. “I started in my own back yard and I need all the help I can get to share these harps with special children everywhere.”
Dianna Woodley, of Hispanic and Scottish-Irish heritage, lives in Chula Vista with her two children Christopher and Kelsey and her 4 Corgi dogs. She no longer uses a wheelchair or a walker and is back to living a fully active life again focusing much of her attention on her dream of helping special needs children around the world live their lives to the fullest through the healing sounds of their very own “Angel Harp.”
