Why We are Here
Many have written about the power of music to elevate the spirit, free the mind and nourish the soul. As former members of music ensembles, we at The Bubs Foundation also know a few other things about music and what comes from making it. Things like the self confidence it builds; the lasting friendships it creates; and its ability to help the music makers learn many things. Music makers learn how to focus; they learn that hard work yields success; and they learn how to work together to make something worth working for.
We believe that music education is not an expendable luxury. Quite to the contrary, we insist that music is an essential part of a school curriculum. No other school activity does so much to combine teamwork and individual effort along with academic discipline. Music supports and facilitates proficiency in language and math. It also exposes its students to world cultures, history and foreign languages. To cut off students from music is to cut off young people from a cornerstone of humanity, while abjuring an opportunity to teach kids so much while engaging them in an activity they generally regard as fun and self-fulfilling.
Sadly, however, music programs are suffering badly in public schools. After over a decade of budget cuts and neglect, many public schools have no music programs. Of those that do, many cannot provide the instruments, music or teachers required to make them robust and enticing to their students.
We are here to do what we can to reverse the decline trend of public school music programs. Because we come from choral backgrounds, and because singing is accessible to all and provides special academic advantages, we focus on supporting singing programs. We do this by offering our private dollars as a supplement to public school budgets. We also do this by offering a cappella programs, complete with music, methodology and teacher, to schools which otherwise could not offer such exposure to music. Finally, we hope through our effort to cast a spotlight on the potential of music to teach a child, motivate a student and change a life.