Phil and Orianne Collins Remember Betty Wright
Miami's musical community lost an icon, friend, and mentor...
Recently, Miami’s musical community lost an icon, friend, and mentor with the passing of Betty Wright. Since a young age, Betty has shaped the many facets of Miami’s soul community. Still, her trailblazing musical career grew beyond our community’s borders, serving as inspiration for many young R&B artists. Her legacy, however, is greatly defined by her devotion to supporting Miami’s up and coming artists.
For the past five years, she has touched the lives of hundreds of young artists through her work with the Little Dreams Foundation, a nonprofit that mentors aspiring talent without the financial means (ages 6-17) to fulfill their dreams. As a Godmother for the LDF music program, Betty worked directly with our artists, serving as a mentor and vocal coach. She worked alongside our youth, preparing them for performances, like Super Bowl LIV or auditions to popular shows like America’s Got Talent. Betty invested countless hours in her artists, from handpicking the next class of Little Dreamers to showing up every Sunday to train their voices. She cheered her artists on at performances and nurtured their confidence in their abilities. She was a presence we all could always count on. Betty exemplified the Foundation’s mission, having achieved her own dreams and worked to help others do the same.
Like the thousands whose lives Betty impacted, our family, supporters, and Little Dreamers mourn the loss of our dear friend. We thank her for being an example in music and mentorship for the next generation—one that will never be forgotten.
Our thoughts and prayers remain with Betty’s family, loved ones, and fans.
Thank you,
Orianne and Phill Collins, Founders, Little Dreams Foundation
Brett Graff is SocialMiami.com’s managing editor and has been a journalist covering money, people and power for over 20 years. Graff contributes to national media outlets including Reuters, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, Maxim, and the PBS show, Nightly Business Report. A former U.S. government economist, her nationally syndicated column The Home Economist is first published in The Miami Herald and then on the Tribune Content Agency, where it’s available to over 400 publications nationwide. She is broadcast weekly on two iHeartRadio news shows and is the author of “Not Buying It: Stop Overspending & Start Raising Happier, Healthier, More Successful Kids,” a parenting guide for people who might be tempted to buy their children the very obstacles they’re trying to avoid.
