PR Contact:
Sonia Caltvedt, Marketing Director
Community Music Center
(415) 647-6015 x75
scaltvedt@sfcmc.org
Community Music Center’s Older Adult Choir Program
Finalist for Bay Area Impact Challenge Grant
(SAN FRANCISCO, CA, May 22, 2014) — Community Music Center (CMC), a non-profit music school with the mission of making music accessible to all, is a Top 10 finalist in Google’s Bay Area Impact Challenge. To compete, local nonprofits were invited to share their most innovative ideas for improving Bay Area communities. Four winners will receive a $500,000 grant and technical support from Google. Finalists were selected based on the following criteria: community impact, innovation, scalability, and feasibility.
Community Music Center will bring the joy of music making to hundreds of older adults through community choirs. The program will extend the innovative work of the Community of Voices research study, which is a partnership between CMC, UCSF and the San Francisco Department of Aging and Adult Services. The study examines whether singing in a community choir is a cost-effective way to promote health and well-being among culturally diverse older adults. It is funded by the National Institute on Aging and supports each choir for one year.
As a finalist, Community Music Center has already been awarded $250,000 to extend rehearsals for the 12 choirs that are participating in the Community of Voices study. With enough public support during the Google Bay Area Impact Challenge voting period, CMC can increase its grant funding to $500,000, ensuring that the positive impacts of the senior choirs continue for at least four years beyond the duration of the study.
The results have been truly transformative for choir members so far.
“When someone is old and shut away in a room watching television, it withers the soul. With [singing] you feel very good. It gives life.” — Francisco, 83
“All week, we wait with enthusiasm for Friday [rehearsal]. I feel a lot better physically and spiritually.” — Isabel, 76
The public voting window is open from May 22 to June 2. Visit g.co/bayareachallenge to learn about all ten finalists or visit Community Music Center’s voting page directly. On June 3, the top four winning projects will be revealed.
Community Music Center is honored to have been selected as a finalist by a distinguished panel of advisors: Honorable Aida Alvarez, Secretary Norman Mineta, Oakland Fire Chief Teresa Deloach Reed, Reverend Cecil Williams and Major League Baseball player Barry Zito.
About Community Music Center:
Community Music Center is a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization founded in 1921 with the mission of making high quality music accessible to all people, regardless of their financial status. CMC is the Bay Area’s oldest community arts organization and San Francisco’s largest provider of free and low-cost music classes and concerts. During the 2012-13 school year, over 2,300 students of all ages, ethnicities and income levels enrolled in CMC programs and over 19,000 people enjoyed musical performances at no or low cost. Learn more at www.sfcmc.org.
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