VH1 SAVE THE MUSIC CELEBRATES "MUSIC IN OUR SCHOOLS MONTH" IN MARCH BY DONATING 4 MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF NEW MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS FOR 140 PUBLIC SCHOOL MUSIC PROGRAMS
This Year's Efforts Position VH1 Save The Music to Reach Goal of Affecting Lives of 1 Million Students Through Music Education by The Foundation's 10th Anniversary in 2007
Foundation Efforts Include Grant of $300,000 Worth of New Musical Instruments to Gulf Region Public Schools Affected By Hurricane Katrina
NEW YORK, February 13, 2006 - In honor of "Music In Our Schools Month" in March, the VH1 Save The Music Foundation is providing four million dollars worth of new musical instruments to restore 140 public school music education programs for this 2005/2006 school year.
This March, The Foundation will continue to work with cable affiliate partners including Adelphia, Bright House Networks, Charter Communications, Comcast, Cox Communications, Oceanic Time Warner Cable and Time Warner Cable to present 30 communities with grants of new musical instruments. In addition, VH1 Save The Music Foundation grant recipient school districts will hold in-school demonstrations to allow school officials and community members to see first-hand the positive impact music has on their students.
2005/06 communities include:
| Baltimore, MD Birmingham, AL Boston, MA Chicago, IL Cincinnati, OH Denver, CO Houston, TX Indianapolis, IN Little Rock, AR Los Angeles, CA Memphis, TN Nashville, TN |
New Orleans, LA New York, NY Oklahoma City, OK Palm Beach County, FL Philadelphia, PA Sacramento, CA San Antonio, TX San Diego, CA St. Louis, MO Tulsa, OK Washington, DC |
New communities this year include Hawaii; Minneapolis, MN; New Haven, CT and Pasadena, CA.
"These donations bring the VH1 Save The Music Foundation considerably closer to next year's 10th anniversary goal of bringing music education programs, to one million public school students," said Paul Cothran, Executive Director, VH1 Save The Music Foundation. "This milestone would not be possible without our cable affiliate partners as well as our music education partners including MENC: The National Association for Music Education and NAMM: The International Music Products Association. Their support has been unending and continues to help us provide students the maximum benefits of music education."
Also during March, the VH1 Save The Music Foundation acknowledges its response to Hurricane Katrina victims by donating more than $300,000 worth of new musical instruments to impacted schools throughout the Gulf Coast region. With the help of music manufacturers including Conn-Selmer, EM Winston, Meisel Stringed Instruments and Yamaha, The Foundation provided special grants - the equivalent of 13 school music programs - in Gulf coast states including Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
Since 1997, the VH1 Save The Music Foundation has provided more than $30 million worth of new musical instruments to over 1,200 schools in 80 communities, affecting the lives of more than 700,000 public school children. March has officially been designated by MENC: The National Association for Music Education for the observance of Music In Our Schools Month (MIOSM®), the time of year when music education becomes the focus of schools across the nation. MIOSM began as a single statewide celebration in 1973, and has grown over the decades to encompass a day, then a week, and then in 1985 to become a month long celebration of music in our schools. Now in its ninth year, the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning VH1 Save The Music Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of education in America's public schools by restoring music education programs in cities across the U.S. and raising awareness of the importance of music participation for our nation's youth. VH1 Save The Music's many honors include the Governors' Award (a special Emmy Award), the George Foster Peabody Award for broadcast and cable excellence, and many Beacon Awards.
The national partner organizations of VH1 Save The Music include the American Association of School Administrators, the American Music Conference, America's Promise-The Alliance for Youth, ASCAP Foundation, Chief State School Officers Association, MENC-The National Association for Music Education, NAMM-International Music Products Association, National School Boards Association and the U.S. Department of Education. VH1 connects viewers to the music, artists and pop culture that matter to them most with series, specials, live events, exclusive online content and public affairs initiatives. VH1 is available in nearly 84 million households in the U.S. VH1 also has an array of digital services including VH1 Classic, VH1 Soul, VH Uno and VH1 Country. Connect with VH1 at http://www.VH1.com.
VH1 is a registered trademark of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom International Inc. MTV Networks also operates and offers joint ventures, licensing agreements and syndication deals whereby its programming can be seen worldwide.
Contact: Maura Wozniak/VH1
212-846-7325
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