Verona, NJ -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/03/2017 -- Little Kids Rock has been named a grant recipient of The NAMM Foundation. The organization was selected as one of 24 organizations to receive a grant to fund vital programs that create and support access to musical instruction and that serve to inspire a life-long love of making music in its population.
"We are so pleased to benefit Little Kids Rock with a grant in their quest to continue to create access and opportunities for all people to experience the joy of making music," shared Mary Luehrsen, Executive Director of The NAMM Foundation. "It is through the transformative work of nonprofit music service organizations such as Little Kids Rock that thousands of people will discover their own musical talent."
The grants serve to underscore the Foundation's mission to advance participation in music making and offer quality access to all people. As one of 24 recipients, Little Kids Rock utilized the resource as a means to support the organization's 5th annual national teacher conference, Modern Band Rockfest 2017. The event is not your standard teacher conference--it is the national Modern Band movement-building revival! Modern Band Rockfest is the place where the nation's music teachers come to be renewed and reenergized by passionate, like-minded educators who believe in the power of a contemporary, culturally-relevant, student-driven music education.
"When the inspirational presentations by special guest artists and arts advocates are done for the day, the impromptu, all-inclusive jam sessions begin, and they serve to remind us of the joy that is mutual music making; a joy that teachers bring back to their classrooms and instill in their students. We are grateful to the NAMM Foundation for their investment in our teachers, giving them the skills and resources they need to ensure our young people receive the music education they deserve," says David Wish, Founder, and CEO of Little Kids Rock.
Modern Band Rockfest took place over four days (July 28-31), and was held on the campus of Colorado State
University in Fort Collins, CO. The conference featured more than 50 professional development sessions and convened more than 380 attendees including Modern Band practitioners, school district administrators, leaders in higher education, arts advocates, and other supporters from across the country and around the world.
Since its inception in 1994, The NAMM Foundation's annual grant program has donated more than $16 million in support of domestic and international music education programs, scientific research, advocacy and public service programs related to music making. The grants are funded in part by donations from the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) and its 10,300 member companies worldwide.
For additional information about Little Kids Rock, please contact:
Kat Kelly, Marketing and Communications Manager
973-746-8248
kat@littlekidsrock.org
About Little Kids Rock
Little Kids Rock is a national nonprofit dedicated to transforming lives by restoring, expanding, and innovating music education in our schools. The organization partners with public school districts to train teachers to run its innovative Modern Band curriculum, and donates all the accompanying instruments and resources necessary to teach popular music in a way that empowers students to experience instant achievement. What began as a single after-school guitar class has since exploded into a national movement that brings free, weekly music lessons to more than 320,000 public school children through the efforts of more than 2,000 teachers in 188 school districts nationwide. To date, Little Kids Rock has served more than 650,000 students.
More info at http://www.littlekidsrock.org.
About The NAMM Foundation
The NAMM Foundation is a nonprofit organization funded in part by the National Association of Music Merchants and its 10,300 members. The Foundation's mission is to advance active participation in music making across the lifespan by supporting scientific research, philanthropic giving, and public service programs.
For more information about The NAMM Foundation, please visit http://www.nammfoundation.org.