ASHLAND, Ore. – Ashland High School students are set to receive a total of 90 brand new guitars as a result of a partnership between the Ashland Schools Foundation (ASF) and the national non-profit Free Guitars for Kids, and some of the instruments have already started to arrive.
According to ASF, the acoustic, electric, bass, and classical guitars will be gifted at no charge to the foundation, the district, or the students.
“This project was initiated when an Ashland Middle School teacher reached out about funding for a class set of acoustic guitars to start a club in the fall,” explains ASF executive director, Erica Thompson. “After a little research, I found out about Free Guitars for Kids and learned what was possible.”
The vision of the non-profit is that every kid should be able to experience the joy and tangible benefits that come with owning their own musical instrument. The organization holds fundraisers and creates partnerships with major instrument manufacturers to distribute musical instruments to kids across the country.
“Music transcends barriers, and every child deserves the chance to explore its transformative power,” shares Free Guitars for Kids executive director, Benjamin Dudley.
It wasn’t long after ASF and music educators in the Ashland School District made the proposal for the instruments, that a FedEx truck filled to the top with instruments arrived at the high school.
“The most unexpected thing was that every guitar came with not only an amp, cable, strap and bag, but also a gift card for three months of free lessons,” shares Ivan Olinghouse, band director at Ashland High School. “Prior to this, we were unable to send any guitars home with students. This has completely changed that. This is going to have such an impact on so many students.”
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