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The following grants were awarded in the third quarter of 2016.  Congratulations to the following programs!

Albuquerque, NM: New Mexico Philharmonic: This organization has created a program entitled Young Musicians Initiative whereby children grades K-6 in two Title I schools and one school on the Navajo reservation receive stringed instrument instruction. 100% of the children qualify for the federal free lunch program. They have been offered a grant for 6 new instruments from our Deon Hilger fund.

Denver, CO City Strings: Augustana Arts administers this program, which runs six string programs serving children grades 3–10 in particularly needy areas of Denver. The students served are primarily Black and Hispanic; there is a chronic shortage of instruments, both in numbers and condition, to serve the children involved. CFKF has offered them a matching grant to support their need for 20 new instruments.

Earlimart, CA SD:  This public school string program serving children in grade 3 was recently created in this rural community near Bakersfield, California. The area is primarily agricultural, and nearly half of the families there live below the poverty line. They wish to expand the program to offer cellos; at present they only have violins, and they’ve been offered our support for 4 new cellos.

Juneau, AK: JAMM: CFKF has given 2 grants to this very well-run and rapidly expanding program serving children grades K-6. The student population there is ethnically diverse, and they have received a matching grant for 6 new cellos.

Madera, CA USD: This is the second grant request from Madera, which has a rapidly growing string program serving children in the 4th grade. The district is creating two new string programs in the elementary schools there, and they wish to expand their inventory to support that growth. 100% of the children there qualify for Federal free lunch. They requested support for 40 instruments, which CFKF supported with a $3,000 matching grant.

Moreno Valley, CA USD: This Adventist school serves children in grades K-8 in Riverside County, California. They are creating a new program to give their students experience in strings; the student population there is ethnically mixed. They  requested support for many new violins to get them started on a substantial new inventory, and we’ve offered a $2,500 match toward that goal.

Oahu, HI: The Salvation Army Kroc Center: The Kroc Center in West Oahu is creating a string program in the fifth grade to build on an existing program for older children there. The population is native Hawaiian, and the program serves an isolated community with little access to outside services. 87% of the children qualify for the Federal free lunch program. They asked support for 12 instruments, which we encouraged with a $2,600 matching grant from our Deon Hilger fund.

San Marcos, CA Fortissimo Program: We supported the creation of this program serving children grades K– 6 two years ago, and they have expanded rapidly. Their goal is to grow from 45 to 100 students this year. The student population is ethnically mixed, serves the general community, and we supported their request for 11 new violins with a second matching grant.

Stamford, CT Starfish Connection: This organization delivers the music instruction to students in the Stamford area; this grant will support their strings initiative serving children grades 3-8.  There is a strong need for more and better instruments for the kids there. The student population served is 100% minority, and 100% qualify for Federal free lunch. They received support for 3 new violins.

Walnut Creek, CA California Symphony: California Symphony’s Sound Minds program is building on an after school program they have created for elementary students in San Pablo at Downer Elementary. This program serves a predominantly Hispanic and economically challenged population; 96% of the children qualify for Federal free lunch. The program has grown significantly since its creation in 2012; there is a strong need for increasing their inventory of better and larger size instruments. We supported this need with a matching grant for several new violins, cellos, and many bows.

Waterbury, CT Brass City Charter School: This program for students pre-K-4^th grade, supports primarily African-American and Latino children through a comprehensive music program in an economically challenged area. 72% of the children qualify for the Federal free lunch program. We supported their needs with a matching grant for 10 new instruments.

The following grants were awarded in the second quarter of 2016.  Congratulations to the following programs!

Baton Rouge, LA Kids Orchestra: This is our second grant to this quickly-growing after-school program that can only serve students that they have instruments available for.  We gave $2,000 in matching support for this well-organized and run program.

Davenport, FL Horizons Elementary:  This is a new string program serving kids grades 4-5 in a rural community in one of the poorest areas in central Florida. CFKF provided $3,848 in matching funds to this exciting new initiative.

Indianapolis, IN Judah Ministries Pride Academy: This is a Child Care Center serving kids pre-K through 6th grade that has invested in the creation of a music program where every child receives free music instruction. CFKF invested in this innovative program with a $2,000 matching grant.

Kissimmee, FL SD of Osceola County: This program, serving grades K-12, has a fairly new and quickly growing string program, and presently has an inadequate inventory to meet that demand. CFKF granted $3,000 in matching funds to this growing program.

Manassas, VA Adventist Prep: This is the second grant to Manassas, which has a small but well-run string program. CFKF gave a modest grant to support their purchase of 4 new instruments.

Manitou Springs, CO Arts Academy: This is a new initiative that hopes to offer strings instruction to all of its 3rd graders. CFKF has offered a matching grant of $2,000 to encourage the creation and growth of this innovative new program.

Milton, MA Wilson-Kindelan School: This is a new string program serving children grades K-1 from the communities of Mattapan, Quincy, Dorchester and Randolph, MA. Most of the children served are single-parent or grandparent-raised. They are bringing in a Sistema Fellow (from the New England Conservatory program) to run the program; their hope is to expand the program through 5th grade in a few years. We offered a $3000 matching grant to this new initiative from our Boston String Project reserve.

New York, NY Orchestra of St. Luke’s: This is our second grant to St. Luke’s; our first gift was very effective toward the creation and growth of their youth orchestra serving kids grades 3-8 from the Hell’s Kitchen area of New York City. This grant will help to continue their growth of high-quality instrument inventory and reduce the need for expensive rentals. We gave matching support for 8 new instruments for this growing organization.

Poinciana, FL Lake Marion Creek MS: This program supports children grades 5-6; their goal is to allow more access to strings for families who could not afford instrument rental fees. CFKF gave $3,000 in matching funds to support their growth.

San Diego, CA Recreational Music Center: This organization is creating three new string programs in Title I schools in San Diego County serving grades 3-5, and providing all instruments, instruction and materials. We have offered a $3,000 matching gift to support this exciting new initiative.

Somerset, NJ Central Jersey College Prep Charter School: This program serves children grades K-1; their request was to help expand their inventory to allow more students to participate regardless of financial need. We supported this worthy program with a modest matching grant.

Vista, CA Boys and Girls Club: This program has initiated a string ensemble that needs a substantial infusion of instruments to provide access to strings for a population that would otherwise be unable to participate. CFKF has offered a $2,500 matching grant to support this program’s goals.

West Linn, OR Youth Music Project: This is our second grant to West Linn, which began their program with our support in 2014. They wish to expand their strings offering so that more families can participate regardless of financial need. CFKF supported this growing program with a $2,000 matching gift.

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The following grants were awarded in the first quarter of 2016.  Congratulations to the following programs!

Bridge Boston Charter School: This is our second grant to Bridge Boston; the first grant was quite successful toward building participation in strings there. 100% of the children qualify for Federal free lunch, and 40% of the kids there are English language learners. CFKF is giving them matching support for 8 instruments.

Gulfport MS TSA Mississippi Gulf Coast Kroc Center: This Salvation Army Kroc Center supports a largely disadvantaged population with a variety or programs including music in Biloxi and the surrounding area that was hard hit by Katrina. 65% of the students qualify for the Federal free lunch program, and the population  is quite diverse. We have given them support for 8 instruments from Deon Hilger’s generous gift in 2015.

Jackson OH Christian Life Academy: This is a new string program in an area of Ohio that’s mostly rural; CFKF has offered matching support to help them build a more substantial inventory of stringed instruments with a matching grant.

Los Angeles Harmony Project: This is our second matching grant to Harmony, which supports a very respected music program in the LA area for over 2,000 underserved kids. This grant will allow them to expand their offering of instruments to the kids they serve.

Lynchburg VA CSD: This program is an established and very active string program serving and ethnically diverse mix of kids K-12 in the metropolitan Lynchburg area. They had a substantial need for more instruments; and our matching grant will allow much greater access to the strings experience for families otherwise unable to participate.

Monitor Springs CO Elementary School: this innovative new program aims to offer the strings experience to their entire 3^rd grade class. The student population is ethnically mixed, and our support will go a long way toward helping their kids experience the joy of strings as an integral part of their educational experience.

Sacramento CA A.M. Winn Waldorf-Inspired K-8: This active music program has a strong need to increase their inventory of instruments so that the kids there can take them home to practice; the students also have to share instruments at the school. This Title I school will now have greater access to fine new instruments through our matching grant.