Program Brings Musical Instruments To Kids Who Can't Afford Them
HOPKINS (WCCO) -- More musical instruments are getting into the hands of eager young musicians thanks to a new donation program.
It's called "Instruments in the Cloud" and its goal is to double that number in the first year.
On Friday, volunteers spent hours fine tuning instruments into playing shape - to give to students eager to join school band program.
"We have clarinets and flutes in different states of repair," Caitlin Marlotte said.
Marlotte points to cases filled with instruments inside a stall at the Storage Mart in Hopkins.
Trumpets and trombones, clarinets and coronets, all donated to the grassroots organization hoping to spread the love of music.
"Mostly they're just in old shape, you know they've been sitting in a closet or basement for about 10 years," volunteer Tony Pulver, said.
According to statistics, 38 percent of Minnesota students qualify for free or reduced lunches. That would indicate the difficulty that many families face in paying for school extracurricular activities.
"If you are part of a family and qualify for free and reduced lunch it's going to be hard to make renting and buying an instrument a priority," Marlotte said.
The instrument cases are vacuumed of dust and the instruments are then cleaned.
"And they come out smelling like a rose - like a bouquet of flowers," Pulver added.
A simple solution of water and vinegar is used to bathe the brass instruments to clean out accumulated gunk. Then they will lubricate the valves and moving parts with instrument oil and grease.
"It means everyone can start no matter their financial situation," says John Greene, a retired band instructor at Apple Valley schools. "Because for so many kids the biggest deterrent you know if finances are a concern, is the cost of the instrument."
Take that away and you open the doors to the wonderful world of music to all students, regardless of their financial standing.
"It's a good thing - it's going to go to some kid and they're going to play a horn and that's great," Pulver said.
As musicians will tell you it's the sense of making music with friends that brings a lifetime of music appreciation.
"Knowing that you've done something together, accomplished it and it sounded pretty good, that's a big deal for students," Marlotte said.
If you have an old musical instrument in storage and would like to donate it to the cause, you can get more information here.