Kennedy Community

KV Community

At Kennedy Violins, we are passionate about building strong and healthy music communities not only locally, but nationwide. With countless music programs disappearing each year and eager students unable to afford participation in the arts, we are committed to breathe life back into music organizations in need of our support.

Kennedy Violins is constantly involved in community outreach, donating instruments and offering financial support to music programs in need. We understand that schools, youth symphonies, local festivals, and competitions won’t survive without our individual and collective efforts to keep music vibrantly alive in the world.

It is our goal to strengthen the music community by

•donating to and sponsoring public school music programs

•supporting private and municipal music organizations

•providing quality instruments to musicians in need

•offering free music education through videos, articles, and more

•teaching others about the value of music in our lives

•sponsoring performances and competitions for soloists and ensembles

We welcome you to participate in the Kennedy Community! Music organizations in need of support or instrument donations are welcome to contact us at 1-800-779-0242

Here are some of the schools we've made charitable contributions to in 2011:

2/26/11: Gardner School (WA), Annual Auction-1 Ricard Bunnel G2 violin outfit. Retail value of $499. Proceeds of the auction went to supplement the yearly budget of Gardner School. The mission of the Gardner School is to inspire students to actively seek knowledge and understanding, think independently, reason critically, and embrace challenge. Teaching to the uniqueness of each individual, they focus on the process of learning and value the exchange of ideas through collaborative work, inspiring all learners to reach their highest potential. While building knowledge of self and an awareness of our connection to others, they develop responsibility for ourselves, our community, the earth and humanity.

4/28/11: Harney Elementary School (WA), International Night Auction-1 Ricard Bunnel G2 violin outfit. Retail value of $499. The proceeds of the auction went to supplement the yearly budget of Harney Elementary. Harney Elementary is a Title 1 school with 70% of students on free or reduced lunch. They strive to provide quality education for all their students.

4/10/11: Columbia Gorge Fiddle Contest (OR), Fiddle Contest-$1500 donation. The donation went towards the operation costs of the festival. The Columbia Gorge Fiddle Contest is a fixture and often has contestants from 5 states.

5/3/11: Metropolitan Youth Symphony (OR), Viennese Ball Silent Auction-Anton Gerard violin outfit. Valued at $600. The proceeds of the auction went directly to support the programs that MYS offers. MYS serves musicians from 450 families in the NW. They offer twelve ensembles, with four levels of orchestra and three levels of band. Through their tuition assistance program, we ensure that no young musician is turned away because of their family’s financial situation.Each year around $40,000 is needed from donations to continue.

9/2011: Joplin School District (MO), SAI Philanthropies-7 violin outfits and 2 viola outfits. On May 22, 2011, the city of Joplin, MO was hit by a tornado that damaged or destroyed a majority of the schools. Kennedy Violins sent 9 instrument outfits to Joplin Schools to replace those lost or damaged in the tornado.

9/2011: Phoenix Elementary District #1 Capitol Elementary (AZ), SAI Philanthropoies-8 violin outfits. Capitol is a K-8 school with close to 700 students that attend school wide. It is a Title 1 school with 100% of students on free lunch and 98% come from Spanish speaking families. Last year, the music program had 85 kids involved but only 22 playable instruments for students to use...that’s 3 kids for each instrument.

11/2011: Williamstown String Program (WV), SAI Philanthropies-9 viola outfits and 2 cello outfits. Williamstown, WV is a small town with a low socio-economic status. There was a thriving string program here until the late 70's and early 80's, when the numbers started to dwindle and the program was cut. In 2006, Jane Pickering and Ashley Clark started a Suzuki Strings program. Today, there are 150 students from 1st-11th grade but there is no funding available for.

Here are some of the youth orchestras we've sponsored.

Portland Youth Phillharmonic
Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra
Metropolitan Youth Symphony
American Youth Symphony
American Youth Phillharmonic Orchestra
Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra
Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra
Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestra of Atlanta
NewYork Youth Symphony

Here are some of the string organizations we've worked with in 2011

Violinist.com

Fiddlehangout.com

allthingsstrings.com

Strings Magazine

International Musician