For over 30 years, March has been officially claimed as the month of observance for Music In Our Schools in an effort to bring more music education and appreciation to the nation. Designated by the National Association for Music Education, Music In Our Schools month has brought awareness and familiarity with the benefits of Music In Our Schools and the impact that it has on student’s lives.
Why Do We Have Music In Our Schools?
Music is a way of connecting students together for a common purpose much like any sport or team. It allows them to be social, set goals, and strive for success and perfection while learning that persistence and hard work pays off. Students can literally hear and see themselves improving and that helps to encourage them to continue trying. These lessons that they learn in school will stay with them for a lifetime of future successes even if they aren’t still playing their instruments.
Musical training helps their brains to develop reasoning and language skills by working areas in the brain that wouldn’t normally receive such a workout. For some, music can help bring together lessons in math and science. So students that once struggled in these subjects can begin to excel thanks to the influence of music education.
Beyond the educational lessons that come with music, there are health benefits as well.
- It improves moods and regulates emotions by creating happiness.
- It can reduce stress and improve daily relaxation.
- Music lessens anxiety
- It improves brain functions like memory and cognition.
- It can help to ease pain through a creative outlet and provide comfort.
Students are all at ages where emotions are crazy thanks to hormones and they’re still trying to find their places in life before joining the adult world. With music education, they can have an easier time trying to find their place and more encouragement to take the right paths.
Why Music Booster Clubs Are Beneficial
Music booster clubs understand the importance of music education and help to keep it funded. With the purchase of new instruments, field trips, and uniforms everything can be costly. A lot of schools close down their music programs to make room in their budgets for other things and as a result, the quality of education the students receive declines.
As an Orchestra booster club, marching band booster club, or other music program booster club you are the music education advocacy group that helps to keep the programs afloat while helping to involve the community and share the importance of these programs with everybody.
Music In Our Schools is the perfect excuse for booster club fundraising and educating the school and community about the musical arts. While school music fundraisers should be happening throughout the year, Music In Our Schools month is an entire month that you can promote, educate, and raise funds.
How To Use Music In Our Schools To Benefit Your Program
Music program booster clubs like a jazz band booster club should already be well established within the school by the time that the month of March rolls around. This means that the booster club should have social media channels, websites, or other public forms of reaching out to the community and student body.
During Music In Our Schools, your booster club should use all of your social reaches to educate and promote music. Make posts about the importance of music, famous quotes, how your school’s music program is helping the students and how your booster club is helping the students. Share photos and video clips of concerts, awards, competitions or anything else that can give a face to the name.
It’s easy to say that your music programs and booster club are helping students, but being able to show it is an entirely different matter. As the saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words.”
Besides sharing this important information with everybody, your booster club should take advantage of Music In Our Schools to set up a regular reoccurring annual fundraiser. This will give the community and school something to look forward to while promoting the group and raising funds.
Fundraising Opportunities for Music In Our Schools Month
Annual fundraisers are incredible marketing strategies that can really help to increase profitability and brand recognition for your booster club. Not only that, but every year can be used as a learning experience to enhance the overall experience in the coming years.
Using these annual fundraisers as a way to team up with the community and local establishments is also a great way to reduce costs, increase advertisement and revenue while getting your mission statement out in front of a much larger local audience.
Some Great Music In Our Schools Fundraisers Include:
Hosting A Concert
With a concert, your music group can play in front of an audience which not only gives them a great way to show off their growing skills but also gives them public performing experiences.
Tickets can be presold, the event can be advertised, concessions could be sold as well.
A Special Music Festival
Depending on where you are and the seasonal weather, this can be a small indoor or large outdoor event. Team up with local companies and ask for donations or discounts on renting traditional festival/fair games and booths. With a center stage area for the music group to perform this can easily be a very profitable fundraiser if advertised efficiently.
Sell tickets for admission, concessions, charge money for games, sell booster club merchandise and educate everyone about the music program.
Battle of The Bands
Divide the music groups into smaller sections and have them all take turns playing for a prize, or team up with other music programs within your school and have them compete against each other.
It’s just like hosting a concert, but someone wins in the end, which adds to the excitement and the word of mouth advertising of those excited to attend really helps to promote the event too.
March-A-Thon
Like any traditional”a-thon” fundraisers you can use them for your marching bands. The band members can all take pledges per mile and then march and play music at the official event. This not only works as a great way to make money, but it also helps to give the community a chance to hear the bands play as well as doubling for a chance to give the band more experience playing while marching, which is no easy task.
Planning these events weeks in advance and choosing one or more to become your booster club’s annual music fundraiser is a great idea!
Don’t forget to reach out to your local community and see what help local businesses can provide to help you. Mention that you’re a non-profit organization and they’ll be more than willing to help you reach your fundraising goals because it helps them too because it counts as a charitable contribution and gives them a tax break. So it is a win-win for you both.
With proper planning, teaming up with businesses and promoting your event to the masses, you can have a successful fundraiser that draws a crowd year after year.
