Music Instruments For At-Risk Youth In New Orleans

Dear GlobalGiving Partners,

Thank you for your continued support of the Instruments A Comin’ (IAC) Project at Tipitina's Foundation’s.  

The goal of the IAC project on Global Giving is to provide new and used musical instruments to increase at-risk youth participation in the Greater New Orleans area public school music programs and marching bands. The mission of Tipitina's Foundation is to support not just New Orleans' irreplaceable music communities but all of Louisiana’s, and preserve the state’s unique musical cultures.  We are very excited to share that we have now begun to expand the IAC project's focus to include another city in Louisiana, better realizing the Foundation's mission.

Shreveport, Louisiana, is in the northwestern part of the state. Historically, Shreveport has been an industrial river city like New Orleans and currently shares some of New Orleans' social, economic and educational challenges. Huntington High School in Shreveport, home to the award-winning Huntington Raiders Marching Band, was chosen to receive an equipment grant from the Foundation.  The school is also home to a concert band, and a jazz band. The Foundation awarded band instruments, music books and other band accessories to the school.  

The Foundation would like to donate more instruments to additional school music programs in Shreveport.  Funds raised through this Global Giving project, as well as benefit concerts and community fairs in the local area, will help to support this new area.

In other exciting news, O. Perry Walker in the New Orleans area, a participating high school in the IAC project, recently attended a marching band competition in Atlanta, Georgia, and won the highest award in the Gulf South contest.  

“Winning that competition for some of these kids was probably the first time ever in their lives that they experienced true self-gratification,” says Wilbur Rawlins, band leader for O. Perry Walker’s “Orange Crush” marching band. “They could say ‘I did it, and I was voted No. 1.’ There were some very prestigious judges.”

But even with this success, Rawlins says that is not the main goal of the band program.  He envisions it as an avenue for children to learn to be successful in everyday society when they get out of high school.  In other words, this kind of esteem-building experience helps to bring young people out of the "at-risk" category into successful self-management.

We know that there are many outstanding projects that need your funding. Your continued support of this project allows more young people in an ever-widening circle to experience the benefits of music instruction and performance, and to transform their lives.

With Gratitude,