Whether kids learn at school or at home this fall, Nick Rose wants them to learn and practice music.
That's Rose’s goal behind his Band In A Box program.
Rose has been distributing hundreds of plain brown boxes with the gift of music inside. It's a spinoff from his Band In A Bus program.
“We believe it’s like giving away a box of joy,” said Rose.
With more and more questions about what classes and extracurriculars will look like as the coronavirus pandemic continues, Band In A Bus is changing its approach to hand out recorders and drum sticks to as many kids as possible.
“The least we can do in these trying times is help kids feel some type of happiness and excitement every day,” Rose said. "That’s kind of why we’re trying to pilot this program.”
Band In A Bus says budget cuts due to the coronavirus are forcing some schools to cut back music programs even more, which makes these free boxes even more important for kids.
“The worst thing that we can do to a kid is strip them of this creative outlet,” Rose said. “As a growing young person, the most valuable thing is learning who you are and your tone of voice.”
The Band in a Box program has enough money to help about 500 kids, but it is raising more money to try to impact as many families as possible.
“That’s the experience that every kid can kind of relate to – that excitement, that fun,” Rose said. “You could see their smiles as they were drumming. It’s such a powerful emotion.”
You can donate to Band In A Box at GoFundMe.com.
