Chase Community Giving is giving away $1,000,000 to the charity that earns the most votes. Vote for my favorite, the Colts Drum and Bugle Corps (listed under their legal name for this contest, Legion Aires Drum and Bugle Corps). You’ll be helping a world class music program and benefiting the Red Cross and all the people they serve in the midwest.
Read their proposal after the break. And yes, I produced that video for them… ;o)
The Issue
Our motto describes what we do – We use music & excellence to teach each other about success in life. We’ve been in existence since 1963 and provide six programs that each year produce life-changing experiences for 350 students age 10 to 21. Our programs include three intensive summer performing arts ensembles and three school year programs that we run in partnership with local schools to support music education specifically focused on disadvantaged and at-risk youth. We currently have over 125 active volunteers.
The Plan
Our big idea has two parts: expand our music education programs to serve more young people and provide mobile kitchens and support vehicles that we will share with the American Red Cross. Part One – We create an Endowment Fund that will allow us to never charge fees to any student in our ensembles for disadvantaged youth and to provide scholarships for needy students to allow them to participate in our intensive summer ensembles. It will also allow us to fund new after school and summer teaching positions and programs to ensure that music education is always available for at-risk and disadvantaged kids. Part Two – We will purchase two new, fully outfitted mobile kitchens each capable of serving over 5,000 meals per day. Our touring youth ensembles will use these vehicles for 10 weeks each summer. During the remainder of the year these mobile kitchens will be made available to the Red Cross at no cost to them to use, operate or transport to aid in disaster response anywhere in the US
The Outcome
We will be able to expand our programs to touch the lives of an additional 150 young people per year. Numerous studies have shown the direct link between music education and math and science performance and the direct link to better socialization and self-discipline. This award would allow us to ensure that our programs will be on solid financial footing forever. We’re not going to replace school programs but we can and will supplement and enhance what the schools can do to engage and challenge students for whom the system is not working. Thousands of young people have gone through our programs and they have learned teamwork, dedication and the value of hard work in the process. Lives have been transformed by our programs and we strive to make what we offer accessible to all. We will provide the Red Cross access to two state of the art mobile kitchens to support their work, at absolutely no charge.
VOTE FOR THEM HERE:
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/818143
