MusicLink Camp Sponsorship Program

The MusicLink Foundation provides camp scholarships of $250 to any MusicLink student who has taken lessons for over six months and shows an interest in the opportunity of a summer music program experience. Students choose the music camp they would like to attend and the MusicLink Foundation works with the teachers and camps to help fund these valuable summer experiences.

Individuals who wish to support a specific student or group of students for these camp scholarships can request to be a camp sponsor with a donation of $250 or more. The organization will provide the name of the student and camp that he/she will attend to personalize the donation. Donors should specify Music Camp Sponsorship Program when they contribute online or with a check in the mail.

Individuals who wish to sponsor one of our more advanced students may wish to make a contribution of $1,000 or more to help these students attend the more prestigious camp programs that last for multiple weeks and can often cost $5,000 or more. Contact the national office at 703-534-9490 or info@musiclinkfoundation.org.

A Piano for Rain,
Thanks to MusicLink!

The smile says it all, but a mother explains the impact of a piano and a caring MusicLink teacher in the life of her daughter:

MusicLink is truly a blessing because my daughter has been asking for piano lessons for over a year and I did not think I would be able to afford it. Last year I explained to her that we would have to make sacrifices so I could stop working for a year to complete my graduate degree and the required internships. However, I still felt guilty when I had to tell her piano lessons were not in our budget. She was so happy to find out we could now afford the lessons and she would be getting a free piano....thanks to MusicLink! She has been practicing every day and loves Mondays because that's her piano lesson day! Thanks again for everything you did to match my daughter with an awesome teacher!

A Very Special Link

At age 8, Anmy Paulino Collado was very determined. She had been interested in playing the piano since the age of four, but funds in her family were very limited. So last May she sat down and wrote her own personal email to the Music Link Foundation, asking about free piano lessons.

"Anmy's sweet, delightful personality jumped right out of her email and I knew immediately that I would happily accept her as my student," states Julie Wegener, MusicLink coordinator for NYC (Manhattan). Julie's friend German Rodriquez spoke by phone with Anmy's mother in Spanish to make the arrangements and in just a little over a week Anmy was on her way to learning the fundamentals of piano technique and tone production.

After only one lesson, she performed "Twinkle Twinkle" beautifully in Julie's Spring 2015 studio recital. Another very early project was to learn "Happy Birthday" for a relative's party, which she continues to play at birthday celebrations, most recently for another student in Julie's studio.

Now a very determined 9-year-old, Anmy practices every morning before school and is working toward Piano Explorer Magazine's 100 Day Practice Challenge, which recognizes students who practice for 100 consecutive days. She also studies violin through WHIN, an El Sistema orchestra located in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan.

Minnesota's Playathon Raises over
$9,000 for the MusicLink Foundation

On the weekend of February 13th & 14th, the Mall of America hosted Minnesota's 8th Annual MusicLink Playathon. Sue Wege, MusicLink Director of Coordinators, organized the event. The weekend activity was a great success, with 247 students performing, raising over $9,000 to support the MusicLink Foundation. Forty-eight teachers were represented, with seven emcee performances.

The piano dominated the stage, but there were also many string and vocal performances, as well as flute, guitar and harmonica. It was fun to have some larger string and vocal groups included this year. MMTA had a presence also with a table dedicated to MMTA information along with instruments for the Mall guests to check out.

The Playathon included a Popular Styles Hour for the second year. Sixteen students took part performing either piano solos or opting to perform with "The Katzen Jammers", a live band which included James Towns on bass, Beth Varela on drums and led by Doug Rohde on the keyboard. Special thanks to Doug for coordinating and emceeing this special hour. What a treat for these students to have this opportunity!

Many MMTA teachers volunteered at the event and even some Minnesota royalty helped out. The reigning Miss Minnesota Outstanding Teen, Rachel Wyandt, and the NAM Miss Minnesota Jr. Teen, Michelle Bergh, served as emcees along with many other local artists.

The top three fundraising studios were Marianne Bryan with 17 students ($1,165); Doug Rhode with 9 students ($1,050); and Kim Nichols with 15 students ($755).

Many thanks to Schmitt Music for providing a beautiful Boston grand piano and a Roland keyboard, to the MMTA Office for helping with online registration and publicity, to Gary Wege our loyal photographer and to all MMTA teachers who participated by sending students and volunteering. The money raised at this event will go a long way in providing more lessons, music, instruments and other musical opportunities to students in need.

This issue of the eLINK contains photos of all students who raised over $100 for the event. Students who raised over $250 received a $50 gift card as a reward for their efforts.

Shop with AmazonSmile
to Help MusicLink Kids

The MusicLink Foundation has registered as a charitable organization that you can choose when you shop on Amazon. Simply go to smile.amazon.com, sign in using your email address and Amazon password. Then enter MusicLink Foundation as your charity of choice and 2.5% of your purchase price is donated to help us pay for repairing and moving instruments, camp scholarships and bringing more students into the program.

Students with no photo: