April has been a busy month as we placed 49 instruments into music programs across Arizona!
One of our favorite aspects of instruments getting pledged and placed is seeing community come together over music education. At EarCandyChairty.org, instrument donors and music teachers have the ability to communicate right on the site. This comment was posted by Mr. Mabry, band director at Pueblo del Sol School, to a generous donor who pledged a flute:
This post was submitted by: Evan Liu, Ear Candy Spring Intern & Trumpet player for ASU's Concert Band
I've been playing music in bands for eleven years so
I know the importance and the positive affect that music can have on someone. I
was fortunate enough to participate in music programs when I was in elementary
and Jr. High which propelled me to continue on in high school and college
because I know that music has slowly been dying down in many school districts.
Music taught me a lot from building up my confidence to learning how to take
care of my instrument. However, I dented my first trumpet pretty badly which I guess
is the learning process because now I treat all of my instruments like they
were my child. I honestly can’t even imagine what my life would be like without
my instruments. Music has had a positive impact on my life and I believe that
youth deserve to experience what I experienced when I was a child. Fortunately,
many people have been kind enough to donate instruments so that music can keep
going in schools around Arizona.
It’s great to read donor stories as well
because these people that are donating really care about keeping music alive in
schools. Here’s a story from an individual who donated a Trumpet to Mrs. Zozaya's school band program at Garcia Elementary:
“I bought this trumpet years ago because it is my favorite
instrument played in jazz music. I always wanted to learn myself, but I got too
busy in life to learn...[Read More]. Plus, I always thought it was best to learn as young as
possible. I did not even try until I was an adult, by then I already had other
instruments to play and other things to keep me plenty busy, so I hope someone
will learn to play this instrument for me. It would be an extra bonus if it was
someone who ended up developing an interest in jazz music as I did.”
This is just one of the many stories that we get at Ear Candy and we would love to read more! To donate an instrument, visit:
We wanted celebrate 2012 by sharing some stories from our donors and teachers that kept us inspired all year long.
"This
instrument is old but in very good condition. My mom got is for me, on a
single income, so I could learn music and have a great school experience.
I understand how important music is...and how it can be a struggle for
parents to provide instruments for their kids. I played it all through
Jr. High and High school band, marching band and pep band. 1979-1984
--Belgrade, Montana. In that rural school at the time...we all played in
band, choir, sports, drama...everything. I'm so glad I had that
opportunity and wish the same for someone else. Music in all its forms
is awesome."
"My
Grandfather gave the trumpet to me in 1965 when I was 8. After many hours of
practice, annoying sounds, and patience by the rest of the household, we made
it to first chair. After all of these years of sitting idle I hope that someone
can take this trumpet back to the first chair where it belongs."
"The
Sunnyslope Orchestra is a growing group of young string musicianswho are
dedicated to playing great music. They are students who rangein
experience from complete beginners, to advanced students who haveplayed
for years and taken private lessons. In spite of this widerange
of talent, the students come together, learn together, andcreate
an atmosphere of cooperation. Students begin the year acting aspeer
tutors, welcoming in new beginning members and teaching them 'theropes'.
Since SY '08-'09 the group has grown to 31 members. Thatgrowth
is the best and worst problem for a director because we have tofind
instruments in a time when capital budgets (the funding used forinstrument
purchases) is frozen and has been for 4 years. Even when wehave
instruments, they are hard to keep in good repair due to the costof
strings."
Stories come to life with Online Instrument Drives
We've had thousands of instruments donated to Ear Candy and placed in school music programs over the last few years. We love bringing joy to students who are eager to make music, but what one of the coolest things is letting them know that they're part of something really special. Every instrument has a story and when an instrument moves through our Online Instrument Drive system, we give instrument donors the opportunity to share their experience with music and tell us exactly what their instrument meant to them. Not only are they passing on their instrument, but the history that comes with it.
Andrea, our dedicated Programs Coordinator, came across one particular donor story that she wanted to share with the rest of the Ear Candy team. It is from a lovely individual who donated their Alto Saxophone to Mrs. Ramsey's school band program at ASU Prep Academy:
"My parents purchased this saxophone for me to play in 6th grade in Pendleton Oregon, a small NE town in Oregon where the Pendleton Woolen Mills started. I played this sax through junior high school and high school. It has been in a lot of parades and concerts, so it is use to people looking at it. It has been in storage since the 60s. I decided to give it to a great young musician who will make beautiful music with it ... but to do that the young musician must practice a lot so the sax feels like a part of their body. Don’t worry about it squeaking or not making a great sound at first … you will get the hang of it after a while and then you can astonish your parents and band members."
We've got so many great stories like this one and we're excited to see all of them come to life as instruments are donated and ready to be placed into the hands of a student. You can browse other requests and read more stories on the Ear Candy Instrument Request page. Then keep the beat going and be part of the conversation, let us know how music has impacted your life.
As the band director, Mr. Klaessy has seen his music program grow from 70 students to 280 over the last four years. Although interest in band and music is on the rise at Andalucia Middle school, adequate resources for supplies and instruments haven't exactly been on par. His band is in need of brass and woodwinds and he has made requests for a Tuba, French Horn, Flute and Bass.
Mr. Klaessey's is only one of the many requests that have come in to Ear Candy's Online Instrument Drive system. At Trailside Point School in Laveen, Arizona Mr. Brownfield is waiting for a flute, clarinet, and two trumpets. Like so many other schools, the kids are eager to participate in their music program but neither schools nor parents can afford to rent or buy instruments. With six students on the waiting list for to borrow a school owned instrument, Mr. Brownfield and the Trailside Point Panther band needs your help!
But HOW can you help, you ask?
You've heard the phrase, "it takes a village", and at Ear Candy we rely on the support of the community to fulfill our mission and it's easy to be part of the process to place instruments into the hands of students. If you have an instrument collecting dust in the closet, you could search the requests and decide at what school you would like your instrument placed.
And we know what you're thinking, "I LOVE MY INSTRUMENT!"
Of course you love it and we know how hard it can be to part with an instrument that has been an important part of your life. But knowing the impact it makes when it gets new life is an equally great feeling. Your instrument is going to be put into the hands of a student who is just as passionate about music and your instrument will get to continue to give the gift of music, year after year.
Check out a story that was covered by AZ 3TV News, where Erica donated her violin to Coronado High School student, Desiree:
But if you don't have an instrument living with dust bunnies in your home, fear not. You can STILL help. Once we find instruments to be placed, we need the help of individuals like you, to pledge funds to get the instruments repaired and shipped.
You can learn more and view all of our active teacher requests in the Online Instrument Drive System, here.
Online Instrument Drive
(OID) Ready for Launch: Monday, September 17, 2012
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.
We have an obligation to
ensure the next generation has the opportunity to embrace and benefit from
music education. Let’s
continue to help get instruments into the hands of students that need them the
most. On Monday, September 17, 2012 check out the website to view requests and
see how you can be part of the solution: Ear Candy
OID
Our latest Backstage Class took place on August 1, 2012, where a group of students had the chance to tour the US Airways Center and meet The Fray. After the class, one of our Board members, Maria Brunner, received this email from a student:
"I want to thank you for this amazing opportunity. I really enjoyed your presentation and the time you took out of your busy schedule to see us.
This entire experience was very inspiring for me especially. Seeing a touring band that got famous out of a small town is really going to make me strive to find stardom.The tour itself was also fantastic! I really got a taste of the spectacular things that go on behind the scenes. I think my favorite part of the tour was the ticketing office. I never realized how much work goes into ticketing alone. Overall, the U.S. Airways tour was great.
Finally, my most memorable experience, was meeting The Fray. They were incredibly nice and they answered all the questions in such an enthusiastic way. I really liked the fact they were doing autographs and photos. I even got one with the drummer (which is my instrument) and that was truly exhilarating.
Once again, I want to thank everyone who put this together, especially Ear Candy Charity, thank you."
"Let Music Be Their Guide" - taken in downtown Phoenix
With the recent launch of our Online Giving Campaign on Indiegogo.com, things at the Ear Candy office have been a little crazy, to say the least. But in the middle of all the madness, this short note from a student served as a great way to remind us exactly why, we do what we do.
We strive to fulfill our mission to provide youth access to music education. We want ALL students to have the opportunity to be positively impacted by the benefits that music education provides.
But we know we can't do it alone. We are humbled by the amount of support and encouragement we have received so far, but we've still got a long way to go.
We have a short amount of time to reach our goal of $25,000 to support of our Online Instrument Drives Program.
We're trying to expand the Ear Candy family. You can help us by:
1) Sharing the campaign with your social networks using the share tools at Indiegogo.com/EarCandy (located directly under the campaign video) - click the 'like' button, type in a personalized message and post to your Facebook.
2) Sending a personalized email or make a phone call to friends, family and colleagues who you think might have an interest in the campaign and would be willing to share it with their networks.
Remember that every little bit helps. Let's make sure that every child has access to music so the world doesn't lose out on the next John, Ringo, Paul, or George!
Our challenge is simple. Ear Candy has 30 days to raise $25,000. We know we can do it, we’re going to need just a little bit of luck and a whole lot of help. So we’re calling all music teachers, musicians, and music lovers alike to help support Ear Candy’s mission to equip, empower, and enlighten youth through music.
From August 15 to September 14, 2012, Ear Candy will run an online giving campaign on the popular crowdfunding site, Indiegogo (www.Indiegogo.com/EarCandy). There is a good chance that you’ve already heard of Indiegogo, a fundraising platform that allows individuals or organizations to share their story and raise money to support everything from an independent project, a cause, or a campaign. But Indiegogo is also a place where people can go to get involved in the things they are passionate about and where communities can come together and show their support. At Ear Candy, we’re passionate about providing youth access to music education.
In the past two decades, funding for music education has seen serious cuts nationwide, especially in Arizona. Since 2008, Ear Candy has helped to give new life to old instruments collecting dust in closets and helped to put them in the hands of students who need them the most. Currently thousands of youth in Arizona cannot participate in music education because neither their parents, nor their schools, can afford to purchase or rent an instrument for them to play.
Meeting our goal of $25,000, will ensure they have the funding we need to launch and operate our newest program, Online Instrument Drives. Ear Candy has spent the past year and a half building Online Instrument Drives from scratch on a shoestring budget, hoping to build on the success of their physical instrument collection drives, which resulted in thousands of instruments placed and tens of thousands of students impacted. With their innovative online system, Ear Candy wants to expand their reach where they can place an instrument donated from anywhere in the country in any music program in Arizona.
The benefits of music education, spanning from improved academics across the board to enhanced social skills, are far too numerous to deny any student the opportunity, especially when financial circumstances outside of their control hinder access.We encourage you to learn more about the work that Ear Candy is doing to support access to music education and hope that you will help share this with friends and colleagues. YOUR compassionate support for this campaign will ensure Ear Candy has the funds it needs to launch and operate Online Instrument Drives on September 17th, 2012.
If you’ve been inspired to help but are still unsure about where to start, read our 5 Ways YOU Can Help Ear Candy post for some ideas!
During the 30 days of Ear Candy’s online giving campaign on Indiegogo (August 15th - September 14th), showing your support for Ear Candy is easier than you think. In fact, it’s so easy that we’ve come up with a list of FIVE ways you can help. 1) Five words Old instruments get new life! Let these five simple words inspire you. It is Ear Candy’s mission to provide youth access to music education. By reaching our goal of $25,000 we’ll have the funds needed to launch our newest program, Online Instrument Drives. We’ll be able to gather teacher requests and collect instrument donations in quicker and more efficient manner. This will allow us to then place them in the hands of those who need them the most, the students!
2) Five minutes What we need help with most is making sure that we’re getting the word out about our program and our campaign (http://www.Indiegogo.com/EarCandy). All that takes is five minutes to help Ear Candy. Share your story about why music and music education is important to you.
3) Five of your favorite sites Share on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, Tumblr (did we miss any?). I’m sure the list could go on, so choose your favorite FIVE and post, tweet, and pin to help us get the word out.
4) Five friends Tell five friends about Ear Candy and our online giving campaign. Get each of them to go and tell five of their friends (who will tell five of their friends) and just keep the message going.
5) Or how about just $5? Maybe you can forgo your usual five dollar footlong for lunch or skip that venti vanilla latte this morning. Every dollar counts, so even saving your change from one indulgence out of the week can makes a difference. But if you’re really up for a challenge, try to go FIVE days without it! And don’t forget to tell us what you’re giving up in order to give and we promise to make it up to you with some love on social media.
That’s it. Now wash, rinse, and repeat! Ear Candy’s Indiegogo campaigns runs from August 15, 2012 to September 14, 2012, so for the next 30 days we hope you'll help us make some noise!
.jpg)
.JPG)