INDIANAPOLIS — Participants and spectators at Music for All's Bands of America Grand National Championships donated more than $11,000 during the Nov. 8-10 event at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Music for All asked attendees to support all of the victims of Hurricane Sandy by making donations in the name of all of the bands in America to the American Red Cross. All of the funds were presented to the Indianapolis office of the American Red Cross in honor of Music for All and all of the band and music students and boosters in America during a presentation Nov. 20 at Avon High School.
The hurricane relief initiative started with a $100 donation from Music for All's president and CEO, Eric Martin. Additional funds were accepted at the Music for All Information & Awareness Booth on the concourse of Lucas Oil Stadium. On Saturday during semi-finals and finals of the championships, volunteers from the Avon High School Orchestra came through the stands with buckets to accept donations.
Music for All officials hope this initiative becomes a catalyst to inspire a student participant lead and driven commitment to create, determine, and support a special Bands of America project benefiting others at each grand nationals, beginning November 2013.
"At Music for All, we want to teach students about more than just music," Martin said. "We are committed to helping to prepare students to be great citizens and professionals. One of Music for All's core values is leadership. We lead through positive action and are committed to serving others for the greater good of society. While the devastation of Hurricane Sandy is terrible, it is an opportunity for our students and communities to practice real leadership and engage in doing so."
Music for All also received support for the hurricane relief initiative from its partners as well as the Indianapolis area community. Pepwear provided T-shirts that were the uniforms of the volunteers, Sharp Business Systems donated printing services, and Home Depot donated the collection buckets.
The Avon High School Orchestra was instrumental in gathering volunteers to help with collecting donations and being a visible presence in bright-colored hurricane relief T-shirts in the stands during the grand national semi-finals and finals. In addition to helping with collecting funds, the Avon High School music community hosted the Bridgewater-Raritan High School band from New Jersey that was in an area affected by the hurricane. Avon High School provided the band with rehearsal space so they could rehearse for the competition, their first rehearsal since the hurricane hit.
For more information, visit the website at MusicForAll.org.
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