The Traveling Guitar Foundation has announced six schools that are scheduled to have a visit, all within the next three months. Founder Damon Marks will be visiting the schools with enthusiasm for the kids and equipment for the schools. Three of the schools are in New Jersey and three are in New York City.
The first date is this Friday, February 27, in Freehold, New Jersey. Mr. Marks emphasized the importance of this work, giving hands-on music education to kids who do not have music programs in their schools due to funding problems.
There is a seventh school that the Foundation would like to add to the schedule but is awaiting funding from the community. Marks said that funding sources are always changing so he must count on contributions from caring individuals in the community. If music has made a difference in your life, please consider making a donation to GoFundMe.
A few dollars can make the difference in a whole school of kids being inspired to have a better future.
After
years of success bringing music education into schools, The Traveling GuitarFoundationwith
support from Schecter Guitars is announcing six additional dates of school visits
in the Northeast.
"On behalf of Schecter Guitars, we would like to note that
the diminishing availability of music to children in our schools is saddening.
However, we do support and believe that given quality leadership and
instrumentation, music can most certainly assist in ones growth if not
completely alter one's life in positive ways. Damon Marks selfless
contributions and determination in providing these opportunities for children
has made it an honor for us to be a part of and we look forward to working with
him on these event and many more to come”, Schechter Guitars spokesperson
said.
Other important supporters include Guitar Center, Mesa Boogie
Amps, EMG pickups, Mogami Cable and Conn-Selmer.
The Traveling Guitar Foundationis an
all-volunteer, non-profit organization that receives its funding from the
generous donations of performing artists and corporate sponsors. These sponsors
and the members of the foundation are committed to the mission of making a
difference in children's lives through music.
Individual contributors are a very important part of making the
foundation succeed. If you feel that music is important and has impacted your
life in a positive way, consider making a tax-deductible donation to support
the work of the Traveling Guitar Foundation. You might change a life.
Please help us keep doing what we are doing, check out our GoFundMe page.
We are so excited that we have been joined by two new partners in our community.
The first new partner is Honor Yoga. Honor Yoga is offering a free month of yoga for $75 where they will donate the entire $75 to the Traveling Guitar Foundation (for the first three lucky people who register)! Honor Yoga is a sustainable community of healing in an environment of caring and love where they honor the mind, body and soul through the practice of yoga. Honor Yoga has beautiful, eco-friendly locations in Hamilton, Manalpan, Mansfield, Millstone and Pennington, NJ.
The second new partner is Master Park's Black Belt America, an affiliate of Shilla Warrior Martial Arts. Master Park's is offering a free 30-day trial with a donation to the Traveling Guitar Foundation of at least $75. There are three of these trial memberships available at each of the five locations of Master Park's, for a total of 15 memberships.
We thank our partners for their believing in the work of the Traveling Guitar Foundation. Because the Foundation is entirely volunteer where all funds go to provide free equipment and curriculum to schools in need, these partnerships help us to reach more children. Please consider joining us in our mission to make a difference in kids' lives through music education!
Click below to get more information on these two great partnerships!
Take a look at the video made by the Jerome Dunn Academy, a grantee of the The Traveling Guitar Foundation. The school made the video because they wanted everyone to know how our donations of Schecter C-6 Deluxe Electric Guitars and our proprietary TGF 8 to 9 week guitar curriculum made a difference for these young people. Thank you Jerome Dunn Academy for this wonderful testimonial. We hope to continue to help more schools benefit from our mission to provide FREE musical equipment and curriculum to schools in need.
Just as one of the kids asked, "Does this mean we're rock stars?" To which we answer, yes, yes, it does!
Testimonial Video: Please donate today to help us keep sharing the beauty and power of music with kids in ever more grantee schools.
It’s hard
to imagine a childhood without music. Imagine young schoolchildren
singing and dancing in a circle, giggling and exuding sheer joy. Music
helps children develop coordination, goal-setting and concentration. Plus,
there is a fully body of research showing that kids who are actively involved
in music are better at reading, math and science.
But many
schoolchildren today are not benefiting from music programs at school because
funding for music education has been eliminated from their budgets. Schools
have had to make hard choices and unfortunately, one of these choices has been
to eliminate their music and arts budget.
Enter Damon
Marks, a lifelong musician and New Jersey resident who is keenly aware of this
problem. Damon has been playing guitar since the age of ten and has
made a career as a professional guitarist. Damon recalls that music
helped him through tough times when he was a child. “It helped me
find my friends and get involved and ease the pain I was going through. If
I hadn’t found music, fellow band mates and fans, I might have found drugs or
alcohol or who knows what else. I want kids today to have that same
chance to connect to music in such a meaningful, creative way.”
Damon
decided to do something about the struggle schools have to keep music and
creative programs afloat. In 2010, he created the Traveling Guitar
Foundation to bring music back into schools with inadequate music
funding. Damon takes his show on the road to elementary, middle and
high schools where he performs and engages the children in his
performance. The program supplies schools with free guitars,
equipment and a curriculum that does not require musical training for any
teacher.
Damon
started by bringing his music program to New York City area schools, including
eight schools in Elizabeth, New Jersey where he attended school growing
up. To date, the Foundation has donated over 400 new guitars,
amplifiers, various types of percussion, instrument cables and a guitar learning curriculum to over 100 schools in the US and
abroad, positively impacting over 30,000 students.
The
Foundation is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization that receives its
funding from the generous donations of performing artists and corporate
sponsors. These sponsors and the members of the foundation are
committed to the mission of making a difference in children’s lives through
music.
Individual contributors are a very important part of making the foundation succeed. If you feel that music is important and has impacted your life in a positive way, consider making a tax-deductible donation to support the work of the Traveling Guitar Foundation. You might change a life. Please visit:
