Music Outreach

The Gift of Music provides free instruments for area youth, as well as free music instruction in a variety of formats. In the Keweenaw, we’ve partnered with the Calumet Arts Center and local musicians to provide guitar, piano, and bass guitar lessons. In SW MI, we’ve partnered with Youth Arts Alliance to bring healing-centered creative empowerment workshops to youth detention centers and alternative high schools.

 

Outdoor Education

The Fund also works to provide outdoor education opportunities to students in the Keweenaw and Kalamazoo through a cooperative effort with area schools and other youth-centered organizations.

Instruction in gardening, and in making apple cider and maple syrup take place here on our farm, along with outdoor writing activities and wildlife observations.

In Kalamazoo, the Fund has launched an urban agriculture initiative along the Kalamazoo River Valley Trail with a mission to fill public spaces with perennial and native plants that produce an abundance of fresh, healthy food every year. The project seeks to bring youth, adults, local businesses, and organizations together, working and learning to repair the ecosystem while increasing access to local, sustainable food.

 

Farm Block
Reunion Benefit

In addition to grants, The Farm Block Reunion Benefit is an important source of income for the Fund. But, much more than this, Farm Block is an appreciation of the beauty of the Keweenaw, and a celebration of art, music, and the outdoors.

Approximately 25 local, regional, and national musical acts perform annually. Workshops on a range of topics, such as gardening, local geology, forestry, yoga, music, and art projects are offered every year. In 2023, we are celebrating the 15th anniversary of FB, with many attendees and artists returning year after year.

 

Kalamazoo

As of this November, Gift of Music is in official partnership with Youth Arts Alliance to bring healing centered expressive arts programming to alternative schools and youth detention centers across SW Michigan. We’re inspired by the leadership and experience of YAA, and we look forward to sharing more of the work once we dig in deeper.

The gardens along the Kalamazoo River Valley Trail continue to produce great beauty and bounty. Starting in 2023 we will be offering a class at Kalamazoo Valley Community College that will provide direct learning experiences with perennial and restorative food gardens in the context of urban greenway design.

 

Your generosity makes all of this possible. Thank you.

 

Thank you to our memberships

  • James Galligan

  • Dane and Jill Christensen

  • Ameriprise Financial - Margaret Vanek

  • Bethany Lutheran Church

  • Tim and Sue Spelich

  • Wanda and Michael Kolb

  • Anita and Miguel Levy

  • Rob and Becky Swykert

  • Dave and Linda Rulison

  • Gino’s Restaurant

  • Ted and Debra Burkhart

  • Julia Clayton

  • Erin Smith

  • Thomas and Donna Cole

  • Gail English

  • Holly Fay

  • Sarah Grieger

  • Joseph Kirkish

  • Knead to Cook - Emily Johnson

  • Ann Nelson

  • John and Charmaine Parsons

  • Pamela Parsons

  • Lynette Potvin

  • Minnetonka Resort and Thunderbird Gifts

  • Wood’n Spoon - Bruce Beaudoin

  • Teach to Taste - Margaret Hanson

  • Kyle Timmerman

  • Kenneth Campbell

  • Gretchen Hein

  • Patricia and Gary Hughes

  • Craig and Jeanne Kurtz

  • David and Karen LaCross

  • Mark Lambert

  • Pasi Lautala and Meg Pachmayer

  • David and Linda Rulison

  • Jim and Theresa Spence

  • Rob and Rebecca Swykert

  • Bernadette Yeoman-Oullette

  • Larry and Linda Zurawski