Reverb, the largest online marketplace dedicated to buying and selling new, used, and vintage musical instruments, announced that it has issued a new round of musical instrument grants through its Reverb Gives initiative. Twenty-one youth music education organizations received grants from Reverb to purchase music gear and support their programs during the pandemic.
Among those organizations is the Otis Redding Foundation, which was forced to rethink its annual Otis Music Camp and determine how to continue its tradition of bringing musically inclined teenagers together to learn about the music industry—amidst a pandemic. With the help of their Reverb Gives grant, the foundation purchased mics, drumsticks, keyboards, and accessories and successfully took their program virtual.
“Thanks to Reverb, the Otis Redding Foundation was able to successfully present Otis Music Camp 2.0 on a virtual platform, connecting 30 campers with Foundation coaches to write, produce, and record some amazing songs,” said Karla Redding-Andrews, Vice President and Executive Director of the Otis Redding Foundation. “We were able to evolve our program in the face of adversity and help students continue to create music during a time when the world could really use more music.”
This quarter, new and repeat Reverb Gives grantee organizations include:
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Class Act Detroit, who used their grant to deliver instruments to their students for use at home and to create a “house of hip-hop” that engages the community around a central performing arts and cultural hub and serves as a form of healing and expression for youth. “Despite COVID-19 challenges, with our recent Reverb Gives award, it is only a matter of time before we are back to full-strength,” said Rashard Dobbins, Founder and CEO of Class Act Detroit. “Thank you, Reverb, for sticking with the scrappy youth organization that defies the odds using hip-hop music and its culture.”
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Lydia Patterson Institute, which used their grant to replace and buy new instruments for teaching Spanish-speaking students on both sides of the El Paso, U.S., and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, border.
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The People’s Music School, which purchased flutes, violin bows, reeds, and related accessories to replenish their orchestral program as they conduct remote classes and continued their mission to deliver access to high-quality, tuition-free music education.
Other grant recipients include Strings Attached Project, Newburg High School, Franklin Preparatory Academy, INTEMPO, Chicago Sinfonietta, Franklin Fine Arts School, Circles & Ciphers, Music & Youth, Intonation Music Workshop, Notes for Notes, Save the Music Foundation, Brooklyn Center Elementary, Young Musicians Unite, Girls Rock Santa Barbara, Merit School of Music, and Chicago Arts and Music Project.
A portion of every sale on Reverb goes to Reverb Gives, which is dedicated to helping youth music education programs all over the world get the musical instruments they need to make music. Since 2018, Reverb Gives has benefited over 120 organizations, ranging from nonprofits to underfunded school music programs. To learn more about Reverb Gives, visit: https://reverb.com/page/reverb-gives.
