Piano Practice -a-thon

I am going to use the blog to solicate on behalf of my daughter, and I am not selling GS cookies.

The piano studio Emily attends is having a Valentine Week practice - a -thon fundraiser for a Friendship Ark home in Ames.  The studio is hoping to raise enough funds to finish a basement area into a rec/family room for the adult residents to use.

If you would like to help, you can choose to sponser Emily per minute practiced or donate a dollar amount.  She averages 100 minutes a week.  We can also collect checks made directly to Friendship Ark if you would like that for your taxes.

I will attached the note from the Studio.  Emily's week will be Feb 6 - Feb 13

Background: Each year, our Sibbel Studio Valentine’s Week Practice-athon raises money for organizations and individuals in need:
•Three years ago, we raised $3,570.10 to purchase wheelchairs and other equipment for individuals supported by Krysilis of Nevada, IA.
•Two years ago, we donated $3,183.78 to Mainstream Living, Inc. of Ames, IA, to purchase a portable track lift and other essential equipment for a bedridden young man in their care.
•Last year, we contributed $6,243.40 to Jason’s Friends Foundation of Wyoming to assist the family of Chase Chesbro, a then-12-year-old boy with terminal leukemia. Chase is still alive and thriving, by the way. His family considers his healing a miracle, since he has no sign of cancer at this time, and the doctors say he has lived more than a year longer than anyone else with his diagnosis.

This year, our funds will go to Friendship Ark Homes of Ames.

Friendship Ark, Inc., is a private, nonprofit organization established to provide residential and community support of persons with intellectual disabilities in Central Iowa. Its mission is to provide homes for persons with intellectual disabilities that celebrate their uniqueness and help them reach their fullest physical, emotional and spiritual potential through nurturing love and respect within a faith community. For more information and pictures, go to www.friendshipark.org.

With your help, I hope to raise $3,000.00 to help turn 900 square feet of basement area in Friendship Ark’s new California Home into an activity and recreational area and meeting rooms. A full 100% of your tax deductible gifts through our Sibbel Studio Valentine’s Week Practice-athon will be used to install electrical wiring and finish the walls in this area. This project will benefit not only the residents at 1305 California Avenue in Ames, but also the entire Friendship Ark community, since residents and staff from other homes will gather there for meetings, crafts, recreation, and fellowship. Mary Beth Oostenbrug, Executive Director of Friendship Ark Homes, hopes to use our pledge to gain grant money to reach the $8.500.00 needed to install carpet and a ceiling in order to finish the whole basement area.

Plan: During the next two-to-three weeks, students will ask relatives, friends, neighbors, or even total strangers to sponsor you for Valentine’s Week, February 7-14, (or any seven-day time period from February 1-14, if that is better for your schedule) when you will donate your practice time on piano or guitar AND any other instrument you’re studying to the California House Project. (Hint: Grandparents are AWESOME sponsors for this kind of event.) Your sponsors may choose to donate a specified amount for each minute you practice (like 5 or 10 cents per minute), or a pre-determined amount (like $1.00 or $5.00). Your sponsors may write tax-deductible checks directly to Friendship Ark Homes or give you cash donations, for which your parents may write a tax-deductible check. During the week after Valentine’s Day, you’ll bring me the contributions, and I’ll record the amount that you collected and your total minutes practiced on all instruments. At the Winter Recitals on Sunday, March 4, I’ll announce the total amount contributed and present the checks to a Friendship Ark Homes representative. I’ll also announce the total number of minutes practiced by all my students, and I’ll present award certificates to 1) the student who collects the most money, 2) the student who has the most sponsors, 3) and the student who practices the most minutes during Valentine’s Week.

Goal: My goal is to have each of my 96 students donate practice time during Valentine’s Week, and to bring me all money collected by February 19. If each student averages only $30.00 in contributions, the total will be $2,880.00, which will nearly reach our goal. Even if we don’t collect the full amount, offering up the time we practice for the needs of others benefits them and helps us care about them. My overall goal is to teach care and compassion for those in need through a fun, productive group activity.