Online Instrument Drive (OID) Ready for Launch: Monday, September 17, 2012
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| Online Instrument Drives (OID) Music Teacher Request |
From
the start, Ear Candy Charity has been
dedicated to providing youth access to music education. After a year of
planning and preparation, we’re excited for the launch our Online Instrument
Drives (OID) system on Monday, September 17, 2012.
Support for music education
in schools is disappearing, leaving thousands of youth without access to the
educational benefits it offers. Even as interest in band and music programs grow,
it can be difficult for music teachers to adapt to these growing pains when
working with so few resources. One of the biggest difficulties they face is a
lack of instruments. The OID system is a resource to connect music teachers and
their students with the millions of perfectly good instruments collecting dust
around the country.
In the past Ear
Candy provided donated instruments by conducting physical instrument drives at
fire stations throughout the Phoenix area. This model worked well on a local
level, but we wanted to devise a program model that would enable us to place
donated instruments in any music program in the country. We turned to
technology and the web, developing Online Instrument Drives, an easy
to use donation platform hosted on Ear Candy’s website.
Online
Instrument Drives connects music teachers and their students with instruments
and financial donors in the community. The process starts when a music teacher
posts an instrument request. Over the last few months we’ve gathered requests
from across Maricopa County, from music teachers like Mrs. Bruso at Sunset
Elementary School. Recognizing the dedication and passion for music in her students,
her request for a flute, cornet, viola, and clarinet comes from the desire to not
have to turn away any more students from her program because of a lack of
instruments.
At Ed
& Verma Pastor Elementary School, Mr. Lopez’s band is in need of trombones. The
program has grown exponentially over the last three years from 28 to130
students. Being part of the band has been a source of pride and joy for so many
students at the school, it has motivated Mr. Lopez to find the resources his
program needs to thrive and continue to have a positive impact.
On Monday, when
system goes live for the first time, these requests will be visible and you can browse requests, see pictures of students and read about each music program’s
need. Instrument and financial donors are then empowered to decide which music
program(s) to support, and have the assurance of knowing exactly where their
donation is going.
Even if you don’t
have an instrument to donate, you can still help by pledging to cover repair
and shipping costs to get the instrument to the school. Crowdfunding is built
into the OID process by leveraging social networks to secure small donations
from a large number of donors. Music teachers, students, donors, and supporters
in the community contribute to the success of a request by using built-in
social media share tools to broadcast appeals for support. This is the same
fundraising strategy DonorsChoose.org used to raise over 32.7 million dollars
in support of classroom projects in 2011.
From start to
finish, the instrument donation process is transparent, interactive and
engaging for all parties involved. At the same time, it captures and shares the
stories of music teachers, students, instrument donors, and financial donors
involved in the process.
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