Congratulations to our 2nd quarter grant recipients:
Decatur, AL Youth Symphony: This youth program in a blue-collar community in northern Alabama is seeking to expand its cello program and allow students growing out of their starter cellos to have instruments to play. CFKF has offered $1,808 in matching funds to encourage this program’s growth.
Detroit, MI: Youth Volume: This program serves kids grades K-12 with group violin and viola classes; they serve as a feeder organization into the Detroit Symphony’ Orchestra’s Civic Youth Ensembles program. They requested support for 7 instruments, and CFKF’s offered $1,612 in matching funds to encourage this program’s growth in a community of high need.
Duschene, UT: Eagle Community Foundation: This growing program serves kids grades 5-6 in Duschene County; they are working on developing a class for younger students to feed into an established junior high program. They asked for support for 10 instruments, and we’ve offered $2,502 in matching funds to encourage this program’s growth.
Eagle Mountain, UT: Rockwell Charter HS: This is an open enrollment Charter School in a rural area of Utah; the program currently has no inventory of instruments, so this grant would help establish one in order to help encourage students unable to afford or rent one to be able to participate. They need support for 12 instruments, and we’ve offered $2,258 in matching funds.
Greenfield, MA: Artspace Community Arts Center: This program serving kids grades 3-12 operates in partnership with the Greenfield Public Schools; they have an active violin program for the area but need more cellos to expand their offerings. They need support for 5 instruments, and we’ve offered $2,165 in matching funds to encourage this program’s continuing growth.
Lafayette, LA: Spartan Strings: This program serves students grades 9-12; kids audition to participate in Spartan Strings. They currently have very little inventory of violas and cellos and those are of poor quality; this grant would help to address that issue. CFKF’s offered a matching grant of $1,201 to support their need.
Lancaster, PA: Music for Everyone: This is our 3rd grant request from Lancaster; they offer music instruction to the Lancaster School system for kids grades K-12. They provide grants to all of the schools, but are unable to keep up with the demand for support for strings offerings. The program serves a multiethnic population, including many refugee families; we’ve offered a grant of $2,500 in matching funds to encourage this program’s continued growth through the Deon Hilge fund.
Lewisburg, WV Carnegie Hall: This innovative program works in partnership with the Weill Music Institute in NYC, offering recorder instruction to kids grades 3-5 to schools throughout the counties surrounding Lewisburg in a very rural area; all the schools served are Title I. We’ve offered a grant of $3,000 in matching funds to encourage this program; this will be our first grant in West Virginia.
Manitou Springs, CO Elementary Schools Ensemble: This is our second grant request from Manitou Springs; this program serves kids grades K-5. On the heels of a successful introduction to violin for all 3rd graders through our first grant, they seek to expand their offerings to include cello and bass. CFKF’s offered a grant of $2,265 in matching funds to encourage this program’s continued growth.
Mesa, AZ: Heritage Academy Mesa: This program operates an orchestra for kids grades 7-12; they need more cellos and basses to continue to grow and expand lower strings participation. We’ve offered $1,660 in matching funds to encourage this program’s growth in an area we have little presence.
New York City, NY: St. Luke’s Orchestra: This is our second grant request from St. Luke’s; they began a successful program for disadvantaged kids several years ago for kids grades 2-8. They need to increase their inventory of violas and cellos and reduce students’ reliance on poor quality rentals. The program serves a multiethnic population in a variety of school and community center locations; 85% of the students they serve go to Title I schools, where 100% of the students qualify for the Federal free lunch program. We’ve offered a grant of $2,460 in matching funds to encourage this excellent program.
Omaha, NE: Omaha Conservatory of Music: This program currently offers free instruction to string students grades 3-8 in underserved areas around Omaha; they’d like to start a double bass offering as well for their String Sprouts program, which operates in 14 different locations. The student population is multi-ethnic; CFKF has offered $3,000 in matching funds to encourage this active and innovative program’s growth; this will be our first grant in Nebraska.
Sandpoint, ID: Music Conservatory of Sandpoint: This afterschool program serves kids grades 4-12, bringing music instruction to such areas as Priest River. They hope through this grant to provide more opportunity to rural kids in the area. CFKF has offered a grant of $1,975 in matching funds to encourage this program in an area we have little presence.
Springfield, MA: Veritas Prep Charter School: This middle school serving grades 5-8 in the Springfield area. Group strings classes meet weekly in Strings Club, and students perform regularly in community events such as the MLK celebration. The student population is predominantly Hispanic and African-American, and 100% of the students in this program qualify for the Federal free lunch program. We’ve offered a grant of $1,172 in matching funds to encourage this program in an area with little strings instruction.
Worcester, MA: Neighborhood Strings: This is our third grant to Neighborhood Strings, which we supported with a grant. Under the auspices of the Worcester Chamber Music Society, they work with kids grades 3-12 from around Worcester in an after-school setting, and they need to expand their inventory of quality instruments as the program continues to grow. CFKF has given Neighborhood Strings grant of $2,323 in matching funds to encourage this program’s expansion.