Fund Musical Resilience for At-Risk Youth!

Dear friends,

The new school year is quickly approaching! With the success that you have helped make possible, we anticipate a bigger need than ever before to supply students with forever guitars.  We were wondering how we might be able to manage manage finding enough instruments to include every student who is interested in learning.

Good people are everywhere, and when we find them or they find us, magic becomes possible.  A few weeks ago I wound up in an incidental conversation with James, one of those good guys you hope to meet in the normal course of life. He is the editor of highly respected Vintage Guitar Magazine.  We had to solve a little mystery about a stray announcement that was 15 years old popping up in our socials and making absolutely no sense.

During our conversation, James offered to begin running a free ad for his readers, many of them seasoned guitar players, to let them know that our nonprofit is able to rehome used and underplayed guitars by  awarding them to students in our after school Strummers Clubs.  We realized that this might provide a cure or at least some relief to people who suffer from MGAS, also known as Multiple Guitar Acquisition Syndrome.

"What is the trouble with having MGAS?" you may wonder.  When someone has a couple of guitars but they fall in love with another one, and cannot resist adding it to their little collection, MGAS symptoms can begin innocently enough.  With rexperiences of falling in love with yet more guitars, obsessing over them, and saving every penny to get them, MGAS sufferers can begin running out of ready funds, and space to keep them, Much to the dismay of their nearest and dearest, they continue to get more guitars anyway. It's a problem for people that live in modest homes or apartments.  This growing army of guitars can lead to glaring looks, even marital discord, talks of remodeling or moving, and in rarr cases, building guitar bunkers. 

 James ran the first ad in July and we got a call a few days later from an honest of goodness rock star who has been suffering from MGAS. His wife is very understanding so this was not his issue. But this angel, who wishes to remain anonymous, and whose first name is Bob, genuinely just wants to make a difference for teens in need. He told me about his sixth grade guitar teacher who put him on the path to a very exciting and meaningful career. Beautiful story.

Trust me. you have not only heard him play gorgeous guitar parts he improvised that turned good songs into unforgettable hit singles.  You may have seen him live on an arena stage or on a television show. He could sell those guitars and make money. But that is not what motivated Bob's call. 

We are really excited that his older guitars are going to make kids really happy. We promised to send him photos on the day the guitars are awarded. Though the students won't know who their famous donor is, we know they will feel the vibes. 

This year we look forward to placing underplayed guitars in good shape into eager young hands so every deserving student has a chance to play not just this year but every year. If you are interested in learning more about our work rehoming guitars, we're happy to connect.  Please drop us a line at info@guitarsintheclassroom.org.

Thank you for helping us bring music in a lasting way into the lives of teens who are overcoming above-average challenges every day, to build and imagine a positive future.

Links:

• Our Website