Thanks to Doc Mike Hess, "Chirp" Program Keeps Local Kids Musical - Instrument Collection Day Set
By Connect-Bridgeport Staff on April 15, 2013
About a year ago, he started the Child Instrument Recycle Program (Chirp) to make used musical instruments available to promising music students who can’t afford to buy new or used instruments on their own.
“Chirp brings together the desire of young students who want to learn to play an instrument with used, donated instruments,” Hess said.
So far, Chirp has collected about 40 instruments of all kinds, ranging from flutes, clarinets, trumpets and trombones to a snare drum and a xylophone. “We collect the donations, send them to Bandland Music in Clarksburg to get them fixed if they need repairs and then notify band directors in Harrison County schools about what instruments we have,” Hess said. “If they have students who want to play music but can’t afford an instrument, we’ll give one to them so they can learn.”
Schools in Harrison County start teaching band classes in fourth and fifth grade, so most of the instruments go to elementary and middle school students under what Chirp calls “scholarships.” Students have to maintain a good grade point average and be in good standing with the school to be eligible for an instrument.
“It’s a lot of fun, collecting these instruments and then giving them to kids who need them,” Hess said. The next collection will take place on Saturday, April 27, from 9 am. until 9 p.m. at the charity booth near the Marshalls store at Meadowbrook Mall in Bridgeport. Anyone can drop by the booth to donate a musical instrument to Chirp.
Hess also accepts monetary donations to an endowment fund he started in 2011 through Your Community Foundation (YCF). Once the endowment is fully funded, YCF will invest the money and all future donations to increase its value, and distribute the annual net income from those investments to Chirp to help cover instrument repairs and other costs associated with the program.
All donations of instruments or money are tax-deductible.
YCF is a charitable, non-profit organization that encourages, develops and manages endowment funds and uses the net proceeds to support a long list of community programs and scholarships. manages assets and pledged assets of approximately $8 million and administers more than 150 separate funds.
YCF has awarded more than $650,000 in scholarship assistance to students in the North Central West Virginia region and distributed more than $5 million in annual grants to deserving organizations as designated by its donors.
Any individual, organization or business can establish a fund through YCF or make tax-deductible donations to any existing endowment fund. All donations are invested to increase their value and the net income from those investments is paid out in annual scholarships and grants.
Information about YCF and a description of its endowment funds is available at www.ycfwv.org or by calling (304) 296-3433.
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