Hello Music Friends, and Community Members!

This Tip Jar was created for guitarist and advocate Bruce Robbins and anyone interested in bringing more music to students's educational experiences from early childhood through high school to make an amazing difference in their lives. We are hoping you will learn about and contribute to creating free hands-on music programs that empower parents and caregivers to help young children learn the fundamentals in early childhood through the power of song! Teachers cannot do the job alone. When the adults at home learn how to support early language and literacy development with the children in their care, studies show this makes a significant difference.

Before children can read, they must develop spoken language using the sounds of letters, blended together into words, practicing these skills over and over. When adults help out with singing and reading at home. children can begin matching letter sounds with the letters, and start learning to sound them out.

Strong reading skills begin with decoding. Nothing helps this along more joyfully or faster than singing songs. Music + Literacy = Success! This fundraiser will support parents, grandparents, caregivers, and teachers to learn to cultivate language and literacy skills in early childhood programs with songs for learning and specialized reading materials.

Tax-deductible contributions to our free family Uke Can Read events in public libraries will make this learning possible, Every event is music-filled with hands-on rhythm instruments and playing ukuleles, literacy boosting songs, and helpful, free reading support materials. Caregivers and kids learn together.

The libraries need our support right now as their budgets and hours have been slashed this year. They cannot fund these programs, but they are eager partners in advising the process, providing space, spreading the word, staffing each event, and participating in the planning!

This program launched this summer with a pilot program at the Central Branch and now we are eager to spread it to libraries throughout the city, then across the county.

Free programs in libraries make a big difference. Along with neighbors who have secure housing and sufficient income, our libraries serve a significant number of low income families, unhoused families, foster families, and homeschool groups. So the Uke Can Read project can make a difference for people from many walks of life, each with creativity, heart, and hope for their child's future. Your gift will fund the program, as well as special early literacy books (called decodables), and a lending library set of ukuleles for home practice!

Thank you to Bruce for coming back to performing in person this month at Bivouac Ciderworks! It will be another truly wonderful evening. If you ever want to discuss this work, I'd love to hear from you!

With gratitude for you and your place in this caring community.

Jess

Jessica Baron

Executive Director, Guitars and Ukes In The Classroom