The Play It Forward Instrument Drive is over. Please contact Bringing Music to Life if you have an instrument to donate.
As the music of the giving season begins to fill the air, The Lincoln Center will be accepting donations for our Play It Forward Instrument Drive during the holiday season.
Partnering with Boomer Music Company and Bringing Music to Life, we will kick off the instrument drive at the very fitting performance of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy’s Wild and Swingin’ Holiday Party the evening of November 24, 2018.
“What better show than Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, with their amazing big band instrumentation, to spur folks to blow the dust off their unused instruments and donate them to a great cause,” says Jack Rogers, Lincoln Center Executive Director.
We will accept donations of gently used instruments including strings, brass, woodwinds, percussion and guitars beginning at 6:30 p.m. November 24. The Play It Forward drive will then last through December 23 and anyone can donate during the hours that The Lincoln Center is open, which vary but include Tue-Sat, noon-6 p.m. and during performances. Tickets to events are not required to drop off donations.
Bringing Music to Life is a Colorado-wide effort that awards donated instruments to deserving schools who apply and meet the program criteria. This includes Title One and other schools that have underfunded music education programs. All the instruments awarded are in excellent playable condition thanks to Bringing Music to Life’s partnership with the Colorado Institute of Musical Instrument Technology, which appraises and repairs donated instruments.
Boomer Music Company is the Fort Collins donation center for Bringing Music to Life’s annual drive, which typically takes place in the spring. Boomer owner, Drew Holmes, is excited for the opportunity to help with The Lincoln Center’s drive during the holiday season. “I think this is a great opportunity to do some good in our community,” says Holmes. “We usually gather instruments for this amazing program in the spring, but with music being such an important part of the holiday season, it just makes perfect sense to remind folks that the gift of music is something that needs to be shared.”
Steve Blatt the founder and executive director for Bringing Music to Life is also thrilled for the Play It Forward Instrument Drive that will benefit the Fort Collins area. He expressed his delight for donations outside of the annual drive and why the instrument drive is important. “When children learn to play an instrument, they learn much more than notes and scales. They develop skills for life: how to listen carefully, work with others, persevere until a goal is reached. They become more creative, compassionate and complete people.”
Bringing Music to Life will send a formal thank you letter with the appraised value of any instrument donated that can be used for tax purposes. All donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by the law.
Donations accepted Nov. 24–Dec. 23 during Lincoln Center Business Hours which vary but include Tue-Sat, noon-6 p.m. and during performances.