All the News on Music4Life

June 10, 2020

Keeping Things in Perspective
The following notice appeared on the Music4Life™ Homepage as of mid-May:

"Feeding people and other emergencies during the current coronavirus health crisis are of compelling importance. We recommend supporting Northwest Harvest and Harvest Against Hunger (formerly Rotary First Harvest) .
We ask everyone to dig a little deeper to support them. Eventually, we expect to get through this mess. Once on the other side of it, we’re certain that the need by our kids for ready-to-play musical instruments will be just as important as it ever has been."

Please be sure to refresh your browser after calling-up the webpage.

Total Instruments Delivered
Schools remain closed, as do nearly all of our musical instrument repair shops. This means that Music4Life has delivered 224 donated and repaired full-sized musical instruments since Sept. 1st to our ten public school districts for use by students qualifying for free or reduced cost school meals. The total "fair market value" of these 224 instruments and related materials is $127,909. This is 81 percent of last year’s total. All instrument values are according to our independent third-party vendor-experts.

Our Ten Programs Continue Operations
The ten school district-based Programs of Music4Life are operated in-part by ten booster clubs, each comprised of local leaders and dedicated to its own public school district. So the Highline Music4Life Booster Club serves Highline Public Schools. The Everett Music4Life Booster Club serves Everett Public Schools. And so forth. To varying degrees each of these ten booster clubs continues to prepare for that time when we emerge from the coronavirus health emergency and can once again repair and deliver ready-to-play musical instruments to our participating public school districts for use by the students who most need them.

Schools and Most Vendors Closed
All of our schools remain closed and are preparing for the fall term. Similarly, all of our preferred vendor repair stores are closed except Kennelly Keys Music is accepting instrument drop-offs at their Lynnwood store. Music4Life encourages instrument donors to be on the lookout for used instruments in their garages or attics during their quarantine downtime and hold them for delivery when stores can re-open.

New Music4Life Poster Is Available
We try to make it as convenient as possible for people to donate their "lovingly used" musical instruments to Music4Life. A new poster promoting drop-off points in the community is now available. It's intended for display in store windows, such as businesses, chambers of commerce, non-profit organizations and others willing to accept instrument donations. This example can be changed to fit your community’s needs.

Booster Club Feature: Everett
(Editor's Note: We begin featuring the work of one of our various school district-based booster clubs with this edition.)

The Music4Life booster club supporting Everett Public Schools continues its monthly meetings even during this quarantine period. Ably led by President Jane Webber, other members of the Everett Music4Life Booster Club include (by alpha) Carmen Boggs; Rick Bowen; Emily Cheever (Sup's rep); Lois Craig; Dr. Mark Valentine; Carol Wheeler; Nicole Whiteley (replacing Emily); Mark Wilder; and Jeanne Willard. Special mention is reserved for Georgia Lindquist, who has served as scribe and inventory chief since the beginning of the Everett Program and is retiring from Everett P.S. Normally we'd include a group photo, but ZOOM prevents that for now. MANY THANKS to all our Everett friends!

Gifts in Memory of (friends)
Donations honoring the service or memory of individuals you know may be made online or by credit card. Any size donation is welcome.

March 20, 2020

Editor's Note:
Students of families in-need getting playable musical instruments suddenly seems to pale in importance when compared with citizens getting life-saving health care, adequate food and other issues related to the current virus crisis. We just want you to know that we're doing what we can to navigate the flu crisis ourselves while maintaining the operations and integrity of Music4Life™. Once we get to the other side of this health crisis, Music4Life can resume its worthy importance to us all. With that essential purpose firmly in mind, here's where we are today.

Total Instruments Delivered
Music4Life™ has delivered 224 donated and repaired full-sized musical instruments since Sept. 1st to our ten public school districts for use by students qualifying for free or reduced cost school meals. The total "fair market value" of these 224 instruments and related materials is $127,909. This is 81 percent of last year’s total in just the first six months of our fiscal year. All instrument values are according to our independent third-party vendor-experts.

Poverty Bay Wine Festival Postponed
Like many other public events, the Poverty Bay Wine Festival scheduled for March 7th has been postponed until this fall due to the coronavirus emergency. The annual event is a primary fund raiser of its producer, the Des Moines / Normandy Park Rotary Club. Details will be announced soon.

Heppner Added to Music4Life Advisory Board
Paul Heppner, president of the Encore Media Group, has been named a new member of the Music4Life Advisory Board. He joins Colleen Armstrong, retired Seattle Opera Chief of Staff; ADM Bill Center, retired US Navy; and Beth Wojick, retired CEO of Seattle SeaFair and Washington Special Olympics. Music4Life Advisory Board members provide special guidance on request.

KING FM Postpones Music4Life Month
KING FM radio will feature Music4Life as part of its "April Is Music4Life Month" program in King, Kitsap and Snohomish Counties and various cities in each. The feature is a month earlier than usual so we can get instruments to our preferred vendos for repairs before instruments arrive from the school districts during summer months. Our intent is to provide ready-to-play musical instruments as soon as schools open in the fall. Many thanks to KING FM!

Two Baby Grand Pianos
Two baby grand pianos have been delivered recently to our participating public school districts. One went to Evergreen High School in the Highline School District and the other to the Kentridge Performing Arts Center in the Kent School District. In order to accept any piano, it has to be professionally inspected for playability, a dolly has to be acquired so it can easily be moved from classroom to classroom, moving to the new location has to be scheduled and the piano has to be tuned after it has sat in its new environment for a month or so. These are additional expenses can easily add up to $1,500 and are normally paid by the piano donor.

All Instruments Deserve Repair
About 500 people every year now donate musical instruments to Music4Life to get them repaired and put back to use. We describe these as "lovingly used" instruments that donors have in their garages, attics or closets. They go to one of our preferred vendors ( Kennelly Keys Music, Ted Brown Music, Hammond Ashley Violins or various other drop-off points) and are evaluated for possible repair. We do the best we can to repair every instrument back to playability by a student. We did that 334 times last year (2018-19) and are on-track to do it even more this year. But sometimes the cost is just too great or is otherwise prohibitive. Even though our preferred vendors give us discounts on repairs, they still have to pay their technicians for their work. We just thought you'd like to know.

Everett Cultural Arts Commission
With the approval of the Everett City Council, the Everett Cultural Arts Commission has provided a grant to Music4Life to support its Everett Music4Life Booster Club. Many thanks to the Everett Cultural Arts Commission! (NOTE: Music4Life gets support from many commissions, foundations, companies and others. We feature each of them as best we can.)

Donation In Memory of Sue Bartels
Music4Life has received a donation in memory of Sue Bartels from Kristine Wear of Edmonds. Donations honoring the service or memory of individuals you know may be made online or by credit card. Any size donation is welcome.

December 24, 2019

Total Instruments Delivered
Music4Life™ is off to another fast start this fiscal year with 163 donated and repaired full-sized musical instruments having been delivered to our ten public school districts for use by students qualifying for free school meals. That's nearly half the 334 instruments delivered all of last year in just the first quarter. The total "fair market value" of these 163 instruments, plus 1,400 recorders to Highline Schools and 2,417 harmonicas to six school districts is $82,074. All instrument values are according to our independent third-party experts.

New Program for Marysville
We've added another new school district-based program serving the students of Marysville Public Schools. Heartily endorsed by Marysville Superintendent Jason Thompson, the Marysville Music4Life Booster Club is led by Chair Lee Hudson, Secretary Amy Kiffe and Development Director Deanna Hudson (Lee's wife). About 15 other community activists complete the booster club. Instrumental music teacher James Orr has been appointed as the Superintendent's representative to Marysville Music4Life and has already begun receiving musical instruments.

Des Moines / Normandy Park Rotary Check
Club President Connor Talbott (left) of Des Moines / Normandy Park Rotary presented the club's annual donation to Music4Life at a November club meeting. The funds are used to benefit instrumental music students attending Highline Public Schools and are the product in part of the Highline Music4Life Booster Club. Instruments are distributed to each participating public school district based on the relative financial productivity of their booster clubs.

Harmonicas Donated
As we go around speaking to various service organizations, occasionally we're asked whether we get any unusual musical instruments donated. Surely counted among them would be the 2,417 new, boxed harmonicas we received in December from Ron Bloom (right) of Newport in south Bellevue. Total value is $12,085. Kennelly Keys Music delivered 1,056 to Highline Public Schools; 594 to Shoreline P.S.; 200 each to Edmonds, Kent & Northshore P.S.; and 150 to Marysville P.S., based in part on the relative financial productivity of each of their Music4Life booster clubs. Neil Stafford of Kennelly Keys tells us that harmonicas are great beginner instruments for very young students. "If I didn’t have a harmonica program, I’d sure start one with the gift of these instruments," he says.

Two Baby Grand Pianos
Two baby grand pianos are in-process of delivery this month. One is going to Evergreen High School in the Highline School District and the other to the Auburn School District. Others may be made available to our other public school districts as they become available in the coming months. In order to accept any piano, it has to be professionally inspected for playability, a dolly has to be acquired so it can easily be moved from classroom to classroom, moving has to be scheduled and the piano has to be tuned after it has sat in its new environment for a month or so. These are additional expenses and can easily add up to $1,500 and are normally paid by the piano donor.

November 20, 2019

All public school students who want to participate in Marysville instrumental music activities may soon be able to do so. That’s the goal of a new program called Marysville Music4Life, according to Superintendent Jason Thompson.

Initial funding to start and sustain the new program is being sought by the Marysville Music4Life Booster Club, led by resident Lee Hudson. Other officers are secretary Amy Kiffe and treasurer Deanna Hudson. The group is comprised of about 15-20 local enthusiasts.

Music4Life ( www.Music4Life.org ) is the non-profit that acquires “lovingly used” musical instruments from adults who no longer need them, repairs them (if possible) and then provides them at no charge to participating public school districts for use by students in need. Music4Life also operates nine other programs supporting Auburn, Bremerton, Edmonds, Everett, Highline, Kent, Northshore, Seattle, and Shoreline Public Schools. The program acquires used instruments from those who understand that their highest and best use is to put them back into play. Music4Life also accepts donations to help pay for instrument repairs.

“The Music4Life program to our district will open doors for many of our students,” says Superintendent Thompson. “Music4Life has a long history of working with local public school districts to provide instrumental music opportunities for students. This is exciting for the Marysville School District and we are appreciative of our community members who have joined in this effort.”

“We are proud to be a part of this program and can’t wait to see the success of Music4Life in Marysville,” says Lee Hudson. “The Marysville School District has a free-and-reduced-lunch-rate of nearly 47 percent, meaning that the students of many families are likely to need help in acquiring a musical instrument to participate. We can do this. And should.”

The new Marysville effort will be led by the “Marysville Music4Life Booster Club” recently authorized by the Music4Life Governing Board. The Marysville booster club currently is comprised of Lee and Deanna Hudson; Kiffe; Maria Ascencio; Bob Clark; Melissa Cook; John Dougherty; Elizabeth George; Elva Henry; Jolanta Perry; Luz Romero; Marysville instrumental music teacher James Orr serves as a representative for the school district on the booster club. Also serving from the school district are Jodi Runyon, Director of Engagement and Outreach, and Brynn Marcum, Director of Curriculum and Assessment.

Mark Wilder, local instrumentalist/composer and owner of Wilder2 Marketing Partners, serves as the Music4Life Program Coordinator. Other community members who are interested in kids, instrumental music or education are welcome to participate.

The booster club develops resources for musical instrument repairs. Music4Life has relationships with several local musical instrument repair shops, including Bigfoot Music of Marysville/Arlington, Kennelly Keys Music in Lynnwood, Ted Brown Music in Tacoma and Hammond Ashley Violins in Issaquah. All vendors provide discounts to Music4Life for instrument repairs, as well as for purchases of new musical instruments. A downloadable Music4Life Donor Form must accompany all donated musical instruments.

Music4Life enjoys the support of notable music advocates and other community leaders. Gerard Schwarz, world-renowned conductor laureate of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, has endorsed the program, saying, “This wonderful program begins with children in elementary school at a time when, if they’re interested and talented in any way, they have the greatest chance of success. Many people tell me of the impact that direct knowledge of instrumental music has had on their lives. We intend to give this advantage to all our children.”

Music4Life™ is supported in part by grants from 4Culture (formerly the Seattle-King County Arts Commission); the Highline Schools Foundation; the Everett Public Schools Foundation; OpenSquare; Knossos Foundation; the Hazel Miller Foundation; the Auburn Schools Foundation; the Kent Arts Commission; various local Rotary, Lions and Kiwanis clubs; the Community Foundation of Snohomish County; as well as by the law firm of Garvey Schubert Barer; Seattle Symphony Orchestra; the Seattle Folklife Festival; Rafael Carrabba Violins; Encore Media Group; Lamar Advertising; 98.1 Classical KING FM; KNKX Radio; GMA Research; Cascade Symphony Orchestra; Randy Oxford Entertainment; the Stacy Jones Band; the Edmonds Center for the Arts; and others.

November 27, 2018

Music4Life™ has closed another record year by providing 2,036 donated and repaired musical instruments at no charge for use by students at eight Puget Sound public school districts. The instruments are valued at nearly $183,000. This is an increase of 12 percent in instruments and nine percent of the total value of those instruments from those delivered the previous school year. Included were 311 full-size instruments and 1,725 recorders (the little flute-like instruments that stick straight out of the mouth) to third- and fourth-graders to two public school districts.

“We are very grateful to all those donors of ‘lovingly used’ musical instruments who make our work possible,” says David Endicott, Music4Life Co-Founder and President. “It is people who have a trumpet, flute, clarinet, violin or other used musical instrument in their garage or attic and donate it to Music4Life who make participation in school-based instrumental music activities available for students in need.”

Endicott says “the reason we do this is because research show that students who participate in instrumental music activities do better in math, science, history, literature, international languages, reading & writing, even in computer science, in addition to what it teaches in terms of teamwork and self-discipline. These are advantages that should be available to all public school students regardless of a family’s ability to provide them a musical instrument. The sad fact is that many families today can’t even afford to rent a musical instrument for a son or daughter to play.”

Music4Life provides donated and repaired musical instruments at no charge to public school districts for use by students in need. The Seattle-based non-profit acquires instruments from adults who no longer need them and decide that their highest and best use is to put them back into play. Music4Life operates programs supporting Auburn, Bremerton, Edmonds, Everett, Highline, Northshore, Seattle and Shoreline Public Schools. Music4Life also accepts donations to help pay for instrument repairs. At least two other local public school districts are being considered for the program.

Music4Life enjoys the support of notable music advocates and other community leaders.  Gerard Schwarz, world-renowned conductor laureate of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, has endorsed the program, saying, “This wonderful program begins with children in elementary school at a time when, if they’re interested and talented in any way, they have the greatest chance of success. Many people tell me of the impact that direct knowledge of instrumental music has had on their lives. We intend to give this advantage to all our children.”

Music4Life is supported in part by grants from 4Culture (formerly the Seattle-King County Arts Commission); the Highline Schools Foundation; the Everett Public Schools Foundation; OpenSquare; Knossos Foundation; the Hazel Miller Foundation; various local Rotary, Lions and Kiwanis clubs; the Community Foundation of Snohomish County; the Auburn Schools Foundation; as well as by the law firm of Garvey Schubert Barer; Seattle Symphony Orchestra; the Seattle Folklife Festival; Rafael Carrabba Violins; Encore Media Group; Lamar Advertising; 98.1 Classical KING-FM; KNKX Radio; GMA Research; the Early Music Society of Seattle; Cascade Symphony Orchestra; the Washington State Blues Society; Randy Oxford Entertainment; the Stacy Jones Band; the Edmonds Center for the Arts; Kennelly Keys Music stores; Hammond Ashley Violins in Issaquah; Ted Brown Music; and others.

September 06, 2018

Pianos have been weighing heavily on our minds for the last few years. Why? Because Music4Life™ gets two or three calls nearly every week from people who want to donate their pianos. But most public schools already have pianos and what they need the most is to have those pianos tuned, a cost most find prohibitive.

Historically, when we’ve been offered an upright piano, we have to tried to sell it so we can take the cash from the sale and convert it into musical instruments that elementary school-aged kids say they want to play, such as trumpets, violins, flutes, clarinets, etc. And then in turn, we have to get most of those instruments professionally repaired, which requires even more cash.

All the while that this has been going on, we’ve had this feeling that we’re leaving money on the table by not accepting piano donations. No explanation was in sight, until we discussed the issue with Beth Wojick, former CEO of Seattle SeaFair and a member of the Music4Life Advisory Board.

Beth’s suggestion was to turn the whole concept inside-out. She advised that we:

1. Inventory the pianos in our school districts that need tuning (likely to be hundreds);
2. Get bids from several geographically-distributed piano tuners to do this work (probably 40-50 pianos for each tuner);
3. Raise funds separately from our normal repair budget to pay for their work; and then
4. Get the work done!

Result? The education of MANY STUDENTS will be enhanced! We call this innovative new program “Beth’s Piano Strategy.”

We have developed a list of local piano tuners that we have shared with each of our school district representatives to see if any are considered unqualified. After direct calls to several tuners, it appears they are interested in participating.

Next steps will be to ask for bids from those piano tuners, which will give us a dollar goal for fund raising. As we begin this program, no funds will be used for other mechanical repairs that might be needed. In fact, if a piano needs other mechanical repairs, it will be disqualified for tuning at this time. Also, no funds from our normal repair budget will be used.

“Beth’s Piano Strategy” is an emergent program. If ultimately successful, it can be done for hundreds of school pianos at the beginning of each school year. Stay tuned for more updates, and please spread the word to anyone who would like to contribute to the success of this program that we would gratefully accept donations here .

May 11, 2018

May is “Music4Life Month” say County Executives Dow Constantine and Dave Somers, as well as the mayors and city councils of several cities in King and Snohomish Counties.

Music4Life the Seattle-based non-profit that acquires “lovingly used” musical instruments from adults who no longer need them, gets them repaired and then provides them to participating public school districts for use by elementary-aged students of low income families. Besides Seattle Public Schools, Music4Life also operates programs supporting Bremerton, Edmonds, Everett, Highline, Mukilteo, Northshore and Shoreline Public Schools. The program acquires used instruments from adults who understand that their highest and best use is to put them back into play. With adequate resources, Music4Life also buys new musical instruments for school districts.

“Summer is when we have to focus on getting used musical instruments repaired and ready-to-play so that students this fall can start to use them as soon as they are enrolled in school,” says David Endicott, co-founder and president of Music4Life. “We’re very grateful to Dow Constantine, Dave Somers and the mayors of our participating communities for their support in drawing attention to this critical educational need.”

Proclamations declaring city support for the Music4Life initiative have been enacted by Burien, Des Moines, Shoreline in King County and by Edmonds, Everett and Mill Creek in Snohomish County. Endicott expressed thanks to the mayors and city councils of those communities for supporting the initiative.

“The reason this is so important is because research shows that students who participate in instrumental music programs tend to do better in math, science, history, literature, computer science, international languages, reading, writing and other academic disciplines,” Endicott says. “This is in addition to what they learn in terms of teamwork and self-discipline.

“All this is true, unless their parents can’t afford to get them a musical instrument in the first place. And in today’s economy, many parents can’t afford to rent a musical instrument. To this extent, Music4Life is just as much an ‘education program’ as it is a ‘music program.’”

One recent national report found that half of all public school students are from income-eligible families that qualify for participation in the Free-and-Reduced-Lunch program. The Puget Sound area is no exception.

“Our hope is that adults who know of Music4Life will donate their musical instruments to us now so we can get them repaired over the summertime,” Endicott says. “An instrument Donor Form that must accompany the instrument is available for downloading on our website.”

Music4Life enjoys the support of notable music advocates and other community leaders. Gerard Schwarz, world-renowned conductor laureate of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, has endorsed the program, saying, “This wonderful program begins with children in elementary school at a time when, if they’re interested and talented in any way, they have the greatest chance of success. Many people tell me of the impact that direct knowledge of instrumental music has had on their lives. We intend to give this advantage to all our children.”

Music4Life is supported in part by grants from the Hazel Miller Foundation, First Choice Health; 4Culture (formerly the Seattle-King County Arts Commission); the Knossos Foundation; various local Rotary, Lions and Kiwanis clubs; the Highline and Northshore Schools Foundations; as well as by the law firm of Garvey Schubert Barer; Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Cascade Symphony Orchestra, the Edmonds Center for the Arts, Kennelly Keys Music stores, Ted Brown Music, Hammond Ashley Violins in Issaquah, the Guitar Center stores and others.

April 09, 2018

Here’s a great article from the Everett Herald about the recent donation of a grand piano to Everett High School.

February 22, 2018

This award from Washington Music Educators Association is another indication that Music4Life™ is making a difference in kids’ music education!

December 17, 2017

Would you love to know how Music4Life did in 2017? We sure want to tell you!

Our 2017 Annual Report is now available! Download it here.

December 10, 2017

Thanks to Q13 TV News for the great feature about Music4Life. Check out the link below:

Music4Life Program Puts Instruments into Hands of Hundreds of Local Students

Click here.

October 16, 2017

Music4Life, the Seattle-based non-profit that provides ready-to- play musical instruments for use by public school students in need, reports it experienced double-digit growth last year. The organization delivered 276 instruments to participating public school districts by the end of August, compared with 143 instruments delivered the previous year. The total value of the instruments also increased significantly to nearly $169,000. Fair market value is determined by independent third-party music experts.

Music4Life provides musical instruments to participating schools for students in need. The Seattle-based non-profit acquires instruments from adults who no longer need them, gets them repaired (if possible) and then provides them to participating public school districts for use by students in need. Besides Seattle Public Schools, Music4Life also operates programs supporting Edmonds, Everett, Highline, Mukilteo and Shoreline Public Schools. Programs for Bremerton and Northshore Public Schools were recently added. The program acquires used instruments from those who understand that their highest and best use is to put them back into play. Music4Life also accepts donations to help pay for instrument repairs.

“This growth was unexpected but certainly appreciated,” says David Endicott, Music4Life Co-Founder and President/COO. “We believe it was mainly because of the addition of the Everett program last November, significant new free advertising support and the simplification of internal operating procedures.” He says the organization operates with local booster clubs on a fiscal year that begins each September 1st.

Growth reports being reported to participating booster clubs were (the fair market value of instruments delivered is in parentheses):

Endicott says several other instruments were provided to Seattle Music Partners, another non-profit providing after-school lessons, and to new programs for Bremerton and Northshore schools at the end of August. Decreases are reported for Edmonds and Mukilteo because both are rebuilding their Music4Life Booster Clubs.

Music4Life encourages school districts first to provide the instruments to the youngest possible students to give them something meaningful and fun to do with their time. Students receiving instruments may use them for anything they wish as long as they are enrolled in the school district. If they leave the district for any reason, such as graduation or their parents change residencies, the instruments must be returned to the school
district so other students in need can use them. “We estimate that a repaired instrument has a useful life of anywhere from two or three years to as many as 15 or more,” Endicott says. “This means that three, four or even five more students can benefit from their use.”

Music4Life enjoys the support of notable music advocates and other community leaders. Gerard Schwarz, world-renowned conductor laureate of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, has endorsed the program, saying, “This wonderful program begins with children in elementary school at a time when, if they’re interested and talented in any way, they have the greatest chance of success. Many people tell me of the impact that
direct knowledge of instrumental music has had on their lives. We intend to give this advantage to all our children.”

Music4Life is supported in part by grants from the First Choice Health; the Hazel Miller Foundation, 4Culture (formerly the Seattle-King County Arts Commission); the Knossos Foundation; various local Rotary, Lions and Kiwanis clubs; the Highline and Northshore Schools Foundations; as well as by the law firm of Garvey Schubert Barer; Seattle Symphony Orchestra; the Seattle Folklife Festival; Rafael Carrabba Violins; Seattle Music Partners; Lamar Advertising; Encore Media Group; GMA Research; Cascade Symphony Orchestra; Randy Oxford Entertainment; the Edmonds Center for the Arts; Kennelly Keys Music stores; Hammond Ashley Violins in Issaquah; Donn Bennett Drums; Emerald City Guitars; Ted Brown Music; Bischofberger Violins; Olsen Violins; InMove.com and others.

September 01, 2017

With the delivery this morning (August 30th) of four musical instruments:

1. a French horn to Shoreline Public Schools and
2. two violins and a French horn to Everett Public Schools

Music4Life™ has delivered 286 ready-to-play instruments since Sept. 1, 2016 to our participating schools/school districts and very nearly doubled its productivity from last year (2015-2016).

When asked how that can happen, all we can say is:

1. We benefited from new ads that began appearing in Encore Media Group publications (Seattle Symphony, Seattle Opera, Pacific NW Ballet and about a dozen others) starting February
2. We added a new program, Everett Public Schools, that has a very active Booster Club and received at least 90 of those 286 instruments
3. We benefited from some management changes that clarified and simplified our processes

November 18, 2016

Music4Life is starting a new program to provide donated and repaired musical instruments to students attending Everett Public Schools. The announcement comes from Dr. Gary Cohn, Everett Superintendent, and David Endicott, President/COO of Music4Life.

Superintendent Cohn says “As we re-establish strings at our elementary schools and a full orchestra program in the district, and we continue to seek ways to make our remarkable band programs accessible to children whose families cannot afford instruments, Music4Life comes to our aid. The Music4Life folks will make it possible for many more of our students to gain the thrill of fully participating in a band or orchestra without worrying about where they will get an instrument. Bravo to David Endicott and the Music4Life team!”

October 28, 2016

Music4Life™ helped 143 students in need with the delivery of donated and repaired musical instruments across our five-school district-based programs during the 2015-16 school year. The instruments had an estimated retail value of $102,323. Each instrument has an expected life of five to ten years, so other students will benefit in future years, as well.