Day 339 of #LiveWell2017

Yesterday we gave a chance at life by donating vaccines to kids. Today, we switch gears to give a the gift of music education to enrich the lives of young people. Unfortunately, education is not as equitable as we may think, and where a child lives should not determine what a child learns. Every child deserves to have access to the arts as part of their education, but many schools are having to cut music and art programs due to shrinking budgets. You can help.

Here are some charities that help provide access to music education, instruments, and inspiration so that all kids can have music in their lives and schools. If you think it’s important for every kid to have music education, please consider giving to one of these charities.

The Give a Note Foundation  provides grants to school music programs and builds awareness of the importance of music education in schools across the USA.

Music Unites’s mission is to raise academic achievement for at-risk public school students y providing ” unique music education partnerships and programs”.

Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation provides new and used instruments to kids in school music programs.

VH1’s Save the Music Foundation has been working to save music education programs nationwide since 1997.

There may be local foundations in your area that support music and music education for kids. If you want to keep your donations close to home, ask a local music teacher or school how you can help.

Note: As with any charity donation, be sure to shoose the one that best fits your giving goals and spends more dollars on programs and impact than on administrative costs. You can check their ratings on Charity Navigator and Guidestar.