Did you have the opportunity to play an instrument in school? Some students no longer have that option due to cutbacks in programming at public schools. The arts have been taking some major hits due to lack of government funding for education.
However, a $10,000 grant from the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) of Outstate Michigan to the West Michigan Symphony will help provide the Carnegie Hall Community Link Up program to students in our community, helping to keep music in children’s academia.
The program developed by Carnegie Hall for elementary students (grades three to five), will reach more than 4,000 students in 52 West Michigan elementary schools throughout Kent, Muskegon, Ottawa, Oceana and Newaygo counties. And the big surprise: when the children finish the program they will have the opportunity to meet and perform with the West Michigan Symphony -- an opportunity most of us have never had.
“The West Michigan Symphony is extremely thankful for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Outstate Michigan’s support,” expresses Carla Hill, president and CEO of the West Michigan Symphony. “Education is a vital part of our mission as a symphony, and this grant will allow us to continue to bring music to schools in Kent, Ottawa and Muskegon counties.”
She continues, “Keeping music in schools provides children with opportunities for self-expression, teamwork and fun.”
As one of the few professional regional orchestras in Michigan, the West Michigan Symphony has played a leading role in the region’s cultural community for more than 70 years. Founded as the West Shore Symphony Orchestra, the organization now serves a regional audience with eight pairs of concerts annually, along with dozens of educational and outreach activities for children and adults.
Want to help keep the arts in schools? Let the students toot their own horns. Be a do-gooder and support the organizations that help make it happen:
• Ronald McDonald House Charities of Outstate Michigan on
facebook and
web•
Donate to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Outstate Michigan
Source: Adam Russo, SeyferthPR; Carla Hill, West Michigan Symphony
Writer: Jennifer Wilson, Do Good Editor
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