A homeless man's piano playing on the streets of Florida is getting lots of national attention.

51-year-old Marine, Donald Gould was once a Music Education major at Spring Arbor University in Michigan before he fell on hard times and dropped out.

Now the university is offering Gould a full-ride scholarship to complete his degree, MLive Media Group/ The Grand Rapids Press reports.

A video posted to Facebook of Gould's beautiful rendition of Come Sail Away has gone viral in the past week.

Sarasota, Fla. TV station, WWSP-TV picked up the news, sharing Gould's story.

Gould started out playing clarinet as a child and went on to play the instrument in the U.S. Marine Corps. When he returned from the service he came home to Michigan to study Music Education at Spring Arbor University in Jackson. After his wife's death, he fell down a destructive path in which he dropped out of school and turned to substance abuse.

Now SAU wants to help Gould get back on track.

We want to do the right thing for him," said Malachi Crane, SAU's vice president for enrollment and marketing told MLive, "He's obviously had a lot of trials in his life. Sometimes you just need a break."

Crand continued, "If he still has a passion for music education, we want to do everything we can to help him. It's who we are as an institution that believes strongly in the faith-based education we offer. It's the right thing to do for anybody, but especially someone in Mr. Gould's situation."

At this time there is no dollar amount associated with the scholarship, Crane says that whatever it takes, Spring Arbor University is fully committed.

There is also a GoFundMe that's been set up for Gould that has raised over $30,000 dollars far.

 

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