Little Kids Rock

Media Contact:

Keith Hejna
Little Kids Rock
Phone: 973.746.8248 x 114
Cell: 201-264-9520
keith@littlekidsrock.org

National nonprofit helps Dallas music teacher restore and revitalize music education amidst public school budget cuts

Dallas, TX Sept. 27, 2010 — More children than ever before have returned to silent classrooms this fall due to music programs being eliminated from public school budgets nationwide. Fortunately, Little Kids Rock (LKR), a leading nonprofit provider of free musical instruments and teacher trainings in the United States, is helping reverse that trend during the “back-to-school” month of September by helping teachers like Curtis Fox of John H. Reagan Elementary school give music back to their students.

On Thursday evening, September 30th, Fox will host the second annual scholarship presentation dedicated to the memory of Stevie Ray Vaughan. The awards ceremony will be complete with performances, speeches, and a formal presentation by Vaughan’s former bassist, Robert Ware. The award consists of a Fender® Strat Pack®, which includes a Fender/Squier Stratocaster, gig bag, stand, strap, picks, tuner, DVD and 10 watt practice amp.

“Being that my school is right around the corner from where Stevie Ray Vaughan grew up and became famous, I decided to hold the scholarship award in his honor,” Fox says. “I knew and played with Robert Ware who played bass with Stevie when he was up n' coming. Robert agreed to be at the program and was jazzed by all of it, so he will be there this year too. Now the program will be ongoing, as long as I teach at this school.”

Fox attended a free Little Kids Rock professional development workshop in 2008 and, as a result, received a donation from the national nonprofit of thousands of dollars worth of guitars, drums, basses and curriculum to run a modern music program in his school. Now he wants to pass on that generosity each year to a student who demonstrates hard work, dedication, improvement, and practice habits, all things that Little Kids Rock’s music program is designed to enhance.

“We’re in the business of transforming children’s lives by giving them the gift of music,” says Little Kids Rock executive director, David Wish. “Curtis has been acting on this dream since he was trained by Little Kids Rock in 2008, and now he is taking it to another level. I’m proud to see the best brought out of not only our students, but our teachers as well!”

WHAT: Second Annual Scholarship Presentation in Memory of Stevie Ray Vaughan

WHEN: Thursday, September 30th from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm

WHERE: John H. Reagan Elementary 201 N. Adams Avenue, Dallas, TX 75208

Media are invited to attend.

About Little Kids Rock
Little Kids Rock is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization that transforms children’s lives by restoring and revitalizing music education in underfunded public schools. Little Kids Rock was founded in San Francisco in 2002 by David Wish, an elementary school teacher who had grown frustrated with the lack of music education funding at his school. Today, Little Kids Rock is one of the leading nonprofit providers of free lessons and instruments to underprivileged children in US public schools, and has served more than 100,000 students at over 1,200 schools in 24 cities nationwide. Little Kids Rock Honorary Board Members include Bonnie Raitt, Slash, Paul Simon, B.B. King, Ziggy Marley and other famous friends in the music industry. More information can be found at: www.littlekidsrock.org.