Give the Gift of Music to Under-Served Students

     An instrument donation from the The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation will benefit a school for years to come.

Below is an update from a school that was awarded a few years ago:

December 21, 2012

Hi Tricia and Everyone at MHOF,

I just caught my breath after all our performances and wanted to get this off to you before the holiday break. My students' appetite for music is insatiable! At our school's holiday show this year we performed twice the amount of music we normally do to an audience filled with admirers, supporters, and many band alumni from years past. We also spent our mornings before school this week marching the neighborhood and visiting the area elementary schools for the Tiger Band version of caroling. I was apprehensive about leading a marching band through the streets at 7:30AM but my principal and the community loved it and we put a lot of smiles on a lot of faces. One woman who saw us and is otherwise unaffiliated with our school, bought and delivered dozens upon dozens of donuts and hot chocolate to award the hard working band members! So as you can tell, the I.S.52 Inwood Tiger Band is still going strong, thanks in large part to the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation.

Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year,

Brian Moore
Band Director/ Music Teacher
I.S. 52 Inwood Middle School
New York, NY

P.S. I attached a quick photo I took right before a performance- a little out of focus but I think it captures the energy and enthusiasm of the band nicely!

Make your year-end gift today and put an instrument into a child's hands this school year!

     In 2005, Eugene Cottrell, the Director of Bands at Northwood High School in Pittsboro NC, received the Mr. Holland's Opus Award for his dedication to his students and to his profession. And before that, the foundation donated instruments, including a grand marimba, to his wonderful program. Here is an essay by one of his students about how playing it affects her life: http://www.mhopus.org/News/A-grand-result

    Through our work and because of the generosity of our donors, we have had a direct impact on many young people. They have benefited in myriad ways, and we believe they will carry the skills they have learned and their memories of playing music in school with them for the rest of their lives.

    I am pleased to share with you the results and some of the highlights of our last fiscal and school year. Without those who supported our efforts, these life-enriching experiences would not have been possible. We will continue to do our very best to keep music alive and free in our schools.

    Please read about our year of impact here: http://www.mhopus.org/About-Us/Newsletter

     Kids light up when they hold a new instrument. So you can imagine the joy and the smiles that were created in the 98 schools across the country that we helped during the last school year. The 1,683 instruments we distributed not only made students happy and more accomplished, but will help to secure a place for music for all the kids who will play them in years to come.

     Sandy Craig, Principal at Pennington Elementary in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, expresses her gratitude for receiving an instrument grant this school year:

"The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation grant will provide musical instruments to every 5th and 6th grader at Pennington Elementary. Our students have limited resources outside of the school setting for any type of enrichment activities. This grant puts opportunity at their finger tips. These instruments will maintain music instruction at our school for generations to come. We can never thank the foundation enough for this generous and unexpected gift."

     As we gather instruments for the upcoming school year, we thank our donors who make it all possible, and we thank the thousands of grateful youngsters who make those instruments sing. Below is a link to a list of all the exceptional schools we helped in the 2011/2012 school year.

Alice Cooper was on hand Thursday, April 5th, at Paradise Valley Unified School District's board meeting to announce the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation's $20,000 grant to Arrowhead Elementary in Glendale, AZ. Alice Cooper also spoke about the importance of music education in a kid's life and in our communities.

"There are kids out there that really want to play that just can't afford it and here they are, here's the instrument, put it in their hands and just watch them go. Maybe some of them won't be great musicians but so what - it's something that they're doing that they love." - Alice Cooper

Arrowhead Elementary school principal, Teresa Simmons, was thrilled to hear about the award, "All students love to learn new things. This includes learning to play a violin or a trumpet, viola or flute. The students at Arrowhead want these same things, but are often unable to fully participate due to a number of circumstances beyond the students' control. The band and strings instructors have worked their magic each year trying to get an instrument in each student's hands, but can work only so many miracles. With the Mr. Holland's Opus' grant the miracles will continue and instruments will be available for our own talented group of children. We are thrilled and honored to receive this amazing donation and are already making plans to share the gift of music and creativity with our deserving students. Thank you to the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation from Arrowhead Elementary School." 24 instruments and over $1,000 worth in repairs were awarded to Arrowhead Elementary.

Here is a list of all the other schools awarded this school year.

Many donors have made so much possible and we thank them.