LANCASTER, Pa. — Students in Lancaster County are in for a treat.
Music For Everyone (MFE), a non-profit in Lancaster, is giving away nearly 900 musical instruments, valued at around $80,000 to 37 Lancaster County schools on Wednesday.
This is a part of their Great Grant Give-Out, where local schools could apply for instruments for their classrooms. MFE worked with an international instrument retailer to supply their grants. It's an investment they say is necessary for success in schools.
"Programs need musical instruments and need to have strong music programs," said MFE Assistant Executive Director Brendan Stengle. "If you have strong music programs. You have strong schools."
The organization and the awarded schools believe the initiative goes beyond the classroom.
"Music is so much more than music," said Stengle. "It's about more than the feel-good. It's about building brains, it's about critical thinking, social skills, and community building."
"It gives kids a different outlet in their education career, gives them something to look forward to," said Lincoln Middle School Music Teacher Nathan Wingert. "It's really given them some excitement, some happiness."
While MFE was able to grant a significant amount of money, Stengle said the organization received requests for over $230,000.
He said they hope they can close these gaps in music education and increase funding for the future.
“We are going to work diligently over the next decade," said Stengle. "We imagine a world where teachers don’t need to request a whole lot of things because a lot of their music programs are fully met.”
The instruments will be distributed to teachers and students at E.R. Martin Elementary in Lancaster from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 24.
This year's grant award recipients are as follows:
Adamstown Elementary School
Bear Creek School
Boys & Girls Club of Lancaster
Brecknock Elementary School
Burrowes Elementary School
Conestoga Valley Elementary Schools
Conestoga Valley High School
Crispus Attucks Community Center
Donegal Primary School
E.R. Martin School
Elizabethtown Area Middle School
Farmdale Elementary School
Fulton Elementary School
Garden Spot High School
Hamilton Elementary School
Hans Herr Elementary School
Hempfield School District
John Beck, Kissel Hill, John Bonfield Elementary Schools
King Elementary School
Lafayette Elementary School
Lincoln Middle School
Martin Meylin Middle School
Mountville Elementary School
New Holland Elementary School
Park Elementary School and Taylor Middle School
Pequea Valley High School
Price Elementary School
Reynolds Middle School
Ross Elementary School
Smith Wade El Elementary School
Smoketown Elementary School
Swift and Smith Middle Schools
The Mix at Arbor Place
Warwick High School
Warwick School District
Washington Elementary School
Wheatland Middle School