Fund Music for Children with Military Parents

Dear Friends,

Thank you for giving us your help and your vote of confidence on this microproject to lift the spirits and boost learning for children living on military bases whose parents are deployed.

I am so grateful you stood up for the students whose courageous moms and dads are serving our nation in dangerous places. Although the project was retired by GlobalGiving before we met our goal, a total of $535 was raised for the purpose of supporting these deserving children. I can tell you that every dime made its way into the lives of students in 8 different elementary schools serving our military community.

Each of you who gave $25 helped us purchase a really cheerful, durable ukulele to place in a classroom. $20 of your gift went there and $5 went to teacher training. And each of you who donated $50 contributed $30 to the cost of providing training to the teachers of these special students. In all. we were able to get ukuleles into eighteen classrooms! And you combined donations also helped us cover the cost of training four teachers for a full school year this year. Isn't this wonderful news?

Though we cannot protect children from the risks their parents face during armed conflict, we can keep standing up for them and giving them a way to feel better, to express themselves creatively, and to connect with their classmates and teachers through music.

In many of these classrooms, students learned and also composed songs about friendship and belonging. At Dewey Elementary, they sang about friendship being a "circle of love" - a safe place. In Mrs. Stoez and Ms. Smith's room, those circles gave every children a chance to play and make their own words up. And we even received a special visit from artist Rik Palieri who introduced the kids to banjo and taught them to sing "This Land is Your Land." He also told them the story of Abyoyo and how a child conquered the monster, a perfect story for students with parents in the service. Everyone played and sang when Mrs. Stoez conducted her first official strumming station that day!

Thanks again, for your support. We hope you will stay with us in the future so we can carry on doing this important work in your name and honor.

Blessings,

Jess