2020 Year End Appeal

HELP JAZZ HOUSE KiDS KEEP SWINGING STRAIGHT AHEAD THROUGH UNSTEADY TIMES!

Your support helps us achieve our goals that are vital to our mission, and foster the innovation, impact and deepen our reach.

Since March, JAZZ HOUSE KiDS has been doubling down on our efforts to ensure equity and access to world-class music education, support healthy communities through jazz, and celebrate who we are with mutual respect, both on and off the bandstand. As the year comes to a close, JAZZ HOUSE KiDS continues to do some of its most important work ever, as we meet – and master – this challenging moment.

Today you will find us using jazz to:

  • Help young people find their voice
  • Combat isolation and encouraging peer-to-peer engagement
  • Provide community and leadership opportunities for our alumni
  • Create performance opportunities for musicians
  • Build a bridge from the African-American roots of jazz to today

WE DIDN’T MISS A BEAT

Since March 2020 We’ve Expanded Our Reach…

  • 405,000+ fans and counting join us for virtual programming
  • 378 rehearsals and skill-building youth classes
  • 91 live-streamed public concerts, listening parties + masterclasses
  • 36 countries reached with our online programming
  • 75 alumni in first ever JAZZ HOUSE Super Band performance
  • 98 musicians hired for new live performance opportunities “the new gig”
  • 708 hours of programming for students across New Jersey, 9 states, 36 countries, and 4 continents

JAZZ HOUSE KiDS has provided financial care packages for our hardest hit families, and addressed food insecurity by working hand in hand with school social workers in Newark to buy and deliver groceries.

2020 Year End Appeal testimony
JAZZ HOUSE KiDS 2020 Year-End Appeal

18 Years Of Transforming Lives…

  • $13.5 million invested in year-round jazz education, mentoring and leadership programs that bridge the gap in the arts
  • 10th anniversary of the Give an Instrument – Build a Musician program bringing instruments and jazz education into underserved communities
  • 248 students with special needs at the John F. Kennedy School in Newark participated in the JAZZ HOUSE weekly instrumental and vocal program
  • 115 plus national + regional awards given to students and the organization
  • $2.2 million+ awarded in college scholarships to JAZZ HOUSE graduates
  • 32% of JAZZ HOUSE students are now girls, thanks to CHiCA Power®!
  • 100% of students who study at the JAZZ HOUSE in Montclair continue on to college

FAR-REACHING IMPACT

Your gift to JAZZ HOUSE KiDS brings communities together to transform lives!

When the world transformed in March, we asked ourselves: What do these challenging times make possible and what is the role of music, especially jazz? Read the many testimonials, facts, and figures below to see how JAZZ HOUSE KiDS has continued to deliver on our mission and grow in impact.

2020 Year End Appeal, Louis Ricco, parent, East Rutherford, NJ“I just wanted to say how grateful we are for the assistance we received this year. It was above and beyond anything we could have ever expected. This year was the first I actually had to explain to [my son] about tuition assistance, paying for classes, how much the classes are, etc. I could see how nervous he was because he knows our situation. We both literally were screaming yesterday with excitement. Again thank you so much for making this possible for my son. He is looking forward to year 3 at JAZZ HOUSE KiDS and is loving his courses so far!”
—Louis Ricco, parent, East Rutherford, NJ

 

2020 Year End Appeal“I live in Detroit, and for two years, I have attended the JAZZ HOUSE Summer Workshop. This year’s online summer workshop helped me locally by giving me the confidence to enter and win a select spot on the Motown Museum Lyric Project. Even from a distance the JAZZ HOUSE KiDS experience is with me. Looking forward to seeing you again, next summer!”
—William Hill III, JAZZ HOUSE Summer Workshop student, Detroit, MI

 

“I want you to know how much I appreciate all your efforts to keep kids like Ben engaged, hopeful and excited about the music and about the future. Thank you for brightening these dreary days with these wonderful gifted teachers. They’re keeping him learning and practicing (more than ever, actually). He has something to look forward to, and I’m so grateful for all the work and coordination and thought that you clearly have put into this. It’s amazing to me how you implemented everything so quickly and seamlessly. The emails are clear and the links always work, and you’re always delivering a message of optimism and encouragement… (not an easy thing to do). Thank you ALL for everything you’re doing for Ben and his fellow JAZZ HOUSE kids. It’s making all the difference around here. From the bottom of my heart, I appreciate all of it.”
—Dina Pearlman, parent, Maplewood, NJ

 

2020 Year End Appeal, Jazz House Kids Alum“At the JAZZ HOUSE, I developed a foundation as a young musician, got to experience and see so many of the benefits jazz can bring to communities around the world, and met a lot of people I might know for the rest of my life. I am very grateful to not be too far, come back to the MONTCLAIR JAZZ FESTIVAL each summer, and be able to continue developing connections that began in JAZZ HOUSE KiDS rehearsal rooms!”
— Nathan Farrell, JAZZ HOUSE alum attending Columbia University

 

“I just wanted to say thank you again for your generosity. I’ve been wanting to get to a Maria Schneider concert for the longest time and when I was living in the States a few years ago, the timing was never right. To have the opportunity to participate in the workshop yesterday was a dream come true! It was truly inspiring to hear her speak about her music and to hear her music.”
—Debbie Gan, Hang @ Home Masterclass Series participant, Singapore

Our work can’t happen without the generosity of our friends and supporters. Please give to the JAZZ HOUSE KiDS Resiliency Fund today! Thank you for your support!