At the most recent Angels in Adoption gala, we were captivated by George's musical performance and his ability to inspire by sharing his own life's story. He made the evening unforgettable!
George Dennehy is capturing attention all over the world for his unique talents. He was born without arms - yet is living a life filled with purpose as he seemingly does the impossible on a daily basis.
George has a very powerful message to share. Because he has overcome so many challenges in his own life, he believes that every individual has a divine purpose and absolutely anything is possible. People are surprised by his life story, including his brush with death in a Romanian orphanage, and his adoption by his U.S. family at the age of one. George started a musical journey by learning to play the cello at the age of eight. He advanced in classical music until he was able to play cello with regional orchestras. With the cello as his launching pad, he has taught himself guitar, electric bass and basic piano. Then came requests to tell large audiences about his challenges, his heartbreaks, his faith and how he has come to a place of joy while overcoming a myriad of obstacles on a daily basis. Regardless of the setting, those in his audience are always inspired, deeply touched and often realize their own goals are very much within reach.
George gained worldwide attention after a local fan posted a video of him covering the Goo Goo Dolls song “Iris”. George’s story quickly went global, and he received media coverage from as nearby as his own hometown, and as far away as London and Sydney. Then an astonishing thing happened: The Goo Goo Dolls band saw the video and loved it. They invited George to join them and perform ‘Iris’ to an enthusiastic and excited crowd of 7,000 fans at Musikfest, an annual week-long concert event held in Bethlehem, PA. Since then, his career has continued to take off. George recently received a standing ovation for his first TED Talk. CBS News.Com named his video one of the “Best of the Year”. He has been on television and radio all over the world. Major corporations have invited him to their employee meetings to tell everyone that their own perceived obstacles can be shattered. George has had tens of millions of YouTube views and also has released a CD of original music titled "Have my Heart ".
Today George travels the world full time sharing his faith, his story and his music. His testimony of a victorious, overcoming life energizes and inspires his audience and is an event that your group will never forget.
George explains the multitude of obstacles he has had to overcome in life as he faces each day without arms - and how he has become a stronger person because of it. He then encourages the audience to see their own obstacles in a more positive light, knowing anything is possible when they find the will and strength to never give up.
George mixes in some humorous stories and demonstration of his musical abilities.
Most of what we can do could be done by others. But we all have a special area where our individual gifts really stand out.
In this message George will focus on and demonstrates his own gift of playing music. He started his musical journey by being the only person in the world to play a cello with his feet. He has since learned to play guitar, electric bass, and even piano. He reminds the audience that we all have talents and gifts that make us unique, and that one of the most fulfilling things in life is finding that unique gift of your own - and using it to shine light on the world.
George speaks about his own adoption story and how it saved his life both physically and spiritually. He also focuses on the miracle of adoption and our adoption into God's family through Jesus Christ.
George is part of family that consists of 12 children, three biological and nine adopted. The adoptions are from six different countries and include other special needs siblings. God has used not only George's story, but the story of his whole family to shine a special light on orphan care and adoption.
George shares about many of the biggest personal milestones in his ever evolving story, including: his brush with death in Romania , learning to play the cello with his feet a the age of eight,being bullied as a youth, having depression and thoughts of suicide, going viral on the web, being reunited with his biological family in Romania, and sharing the stage with some of the biggest names in the music industry.
Original songs and music act as a beautiful background to the story.
The audience is challenged to think about their own story and the potential for approaching each day in a positive light.