Do you remember the bumper sticker, “If you can read, thank a teacher”? Well, if our children can hear, thank yourself … as a donor to the Fund for the Arts, that is. What’s the connection?
Some students hear the music better than others. Thanks to you and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, more than 500 students at Crosby, Newburg, Farnsley, and Western middle schools were screened for hearing loss and learned how to prevent it. That’s what the Arts can do when we all work 2gether!
Hear the Music! is a new partnership program created by the Fund for the Arts along with Anthem, Heuser Hearing Institute, the Louisville Orchestra, and the University of Louisville School of Music and Program in Audiology. Working 2gether is one way to improve the health of our community!
“I see my students all the time with their ear buds in and I can hear their music standing 10 feet away!” exclaimed Brad Byrum, Director of Bands at Olmsted Academy South, whose band students were among the first to participate in Hear the Music! “The information presented in Hear the Music! helped my students realize how important their hearing is to the enjoyment of music and life. And it taught them ways to protect their hearing.”
It’s easy to take things for granted when our struggles are few compared to others. I’ll never forget the 1988 United Way video featuring Loretta Lynn watching a four year child with earphones hearing for the very first time. The excitement on the little girl’s face is an image I will never forget.
Then, there’s the day I sat in the back row at the Brown Theatre with tears rolling down my face, watching 1,200 fourth and fifth graders sing Swing Low Sweet Chariot as the Louisville Orchestra played during a Making Music concert. These kids were there because you give to the Fund for the Arts. THANK YOU!
An extra shout out this week goes to my friends and arts supporters at Metro Corrections Jail, Solid Waste Management Garbage Collection, and Louisville Fire & Rescue. They love the Arts and we love them! Please wave and say “thanks” the next time you see these folks. See their photos below and many others at all the places we’ve been this week.
“Like” Fund for the Arts on Facebook and when we reach 1,949 friends everyone wins a free ticket to an upcoming Arts event! Click here for photos of the week!
Have a safe Memorial Day weekend and take a moment to remember all the men and women who have fought for the land of the free and the home of the brave.
2gether through the Arts we create a great American city!
