Guitars for Kids

The Musical Youth Foundation is committed to helping at-risk young people access music education and all its many associated benefits! Over the last 4 years we've witnessed first-hand the impact music and music education can have on young people.  So many young people grow up with an unfair disadvantage because they happened to be born in a socially deprived area where unemployment and anti-social behaviour are real and common everyday problems. This might seem alien to you and if so you are one of the lucky ones. After all, not a one of us gets to choose our parents or the home we are born into!

Do you remember your school sports day? Perhaps you got to compete against fellow classmates in a 100 meter sprint, perhaps you even won the race!? Well now imagine you're back at the starting line of that race only this time you are blindfolded, with no running shoes and have a rucksack full of rocks on your back - chances are you'll come last if you even finish at all.

That is what it is like for the young people the Musical Youth Foundation is striving to assist. More often than not there is no one cheering them on or offering encouragement and support from the side lines. It is no wonder so many at-risk young people fail to stay in school, after all how many of us would have stayed in school willingly had it not been for the insistence and support of our families? Without a fully rounded education how can we expect young people to grow up to become fully functional members of our society contributing socially and economically for the overall good?

The current school drop-out rate is estimated by the Teachers Union of Ireland to be at about 20% nationally and considerably higher in urban areas. That’s about 10,000 young people per year that don’t complete the Leaving Certificate exams. Conservative estimates show that over half of these young people (5,000) will inevitably end up dependent on the state. The cost of an unemployed person per year to the Exchequer in terms of social welfare payments and loss of taxation income is €20,000. Over a 40-year working period that amounts to €800,000. When that figure is multiplied by the number of each group of students dependent on the State (5,000) the cost per group is €4bn.

While it may be crude to think of our young people as a “cost centre” the financial impact can’t be ignored. More worryingly is the fact that the education system for one reason or another is failing so many young people and condemning them to a life living on or even below the poverty line with many turning to anti-social behaviour and criminal activity to survive. It is a vicious cycle that if left un-broken will continue to perpetuate the problem for generation after generation to come!

This is why it is so important that we provide opportunities, encouragement and support to all our nations young people so that they may grow up to achieve their full potential!

With your donations the Musical Youth Foundation can continue to work on your behalf to ensure at-risk young people are given  equal opportunities.

Donations have been few and far between since our last report, though we did get an anonymous donation of €222. so to that generous anonymous donor we say THANK YOU! Your contribution will go towards the cost of professional music lessons for at-risk young people participating in our guitars for kids programmes in inner city Dublin. We currently have 100 children across 8 Community Centres that are benefiting from our specialist music education workshops.

Can you afford to make a donation, no matter how small to help the Musical Youth Foundation impact young people?

To find out more about what we do visit our website or feel free to email our Founder & CEO Chris Maher with any queries you may have! Email: info@musicalyouthfoundation.org

Links:

• Musical Youth Foundation Online