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Empower school kids to play, sing & read music through the ukuleleUke Can Do It

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IN THE RUNNING FOR

$25K
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Goals

  • Empower and unite school kids through instrumental music instruction.
  • Train teachers and help fill the need for music specialists in schools

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Overview

Summary:

58% of Ontario grade school teachers teach music with no musical background. Melanie Doane's Uke Can Do It is a proven program (Doane-Hill Method www.ukuleleintheclassroom.com) that teaches young students and teachers music fundamentals including sight reading, ear training, singing and playing together.

Ukuleles are affordable and relatively easy to learn and music skills transfer to other instruments.  Unlike the recorder, kids can play and sing together.

Currently an in-school pilot, we hope to seed our 30-week program in more Toronto schools in need, to feed existing ones and to create an inter-city ukulele choir.

Deliverables:

- support and expand existing in-school programs and seed new ones


- showcase the program in an end-of-year performance at each school


- complete documentary underway of kids' musical journey by ESA film students


- leverage Melanie's passion and celebrity for PR and fundraising opportunities

- train new ukulele instructors and teachers

Community Benefit

How do you know you're musical if you've never tried to play an instrument or sing with others? Through the ukulele, Uke Can Do It empowers kids to discover their inner musician and sets them on a musical journey for life. Learning to play an instrument gives them a vehicle for self-expression and enhances both the creative and logical (mathematical) sides of their brains. The community benefits from a generation of kids who grow up playing, appreciating and supporting music after gaining the self-confidence, skills and teamwork acquired through learning an instrument and performing together. Our ultimate goal is to create an inter-city ukulele choir to bring together students from different backgrounds and communities and unite them in a common language and love for music. During her formative years in Halifax, Melanie Doane experienced how music in schools can unite a community in a shared pride and passion - a musical legacy that lives on across Canada and around the world.

How will the $25K be used?
Budget Notes: Certified instructors teach group classes for 30 weeks at less than $4 per student a lesson. Sessions are free for Year 1 students, those electing to continue in Year 2 supplement program. Budget does not cover ukuleles ($50 each with cases) but we have an inventory of 90 ukuleles to loan out.
$ 25,000 to send certified ukulele instructors into select schools for 30 weeks

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