PLAY IT FORWARD
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Mission Statement
Play It Forward believes that all children need access to the M.A.G.I.C. of music. Studies show and and research has found that learning a musical instrument boosts – Mental Wellness, Agility, Grit, Independence and Community and we think that is MAGIC!! However, due to such factors as poverty, racism and historic marginalization, many children cannot access the kind of instrumental instruction their more affluent peers enjoy. We believe providing free instrumental lessons and free instruments to keep for life, can bridge the gap between desire and opportunity that keeps many children from enjoying the many gifts of playing music on their own instrument. “Play It Forward made me realize that piano and instruments are amazing. I love playing piano. I can play it for hours on end.” Zebbie, PIF student in Portland. It is a cruel jest to say to a bootless man that he ought to lift himself up by his bootstraps. ~ MLK
About This Cause
Who We Are Play It Forward consists of instrumental music teachers and the staff and volunteers who support their work. Our teachers provide free weekly lessons to more than 190 children attending two North Portland Public elementary schools, as well as middle and high school students online. We also host free summer songwriting camps open to children in North Portland, and provide free musical instruments to all our students as well as camp attendees and to various schools and community programs throughout rural Oregon and SW Washington. Over the next two years, from 2024-26, we are working on expanding our lessons into a third North Portland elementary school, Boise-Eliot Elementary, as well as a middle school, Harriet Tubman, and also upgrading and expanding our summer songwriting camps and instrument donation services. Who We Serve We focus on children who have no more time to wait for the right opportunity to come along. Children whose parents and grandparents were denied housing because of their skin color or accent or heritage. Children who are unable to access the kind of instrumental lessons their more affluent peers enjoy. About 70 percent of our students are BIPOC and an almost equal number belong to low-income families. Meanwhile, our instrument donation program serves underfunded school districts, schools, community centers and indigenous communities. "Our partnership with Play It Forward hits on all of our core values, and we couldn’t be more thankful for the instructors and leaders of the program. Our school never loses sight of the need to lift our students from societal disadvantages. With this program, we are expanding opportunities to low-income and communities of color.” Principal Teresa Seidel, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School, Portland. How We Do It Play It Forward operates two distinct, complementary programs – Keys to Learning and Instruments for Change. Our Keys to Learning program offers free weekly lessons in piano/keyboards, guitar, and ukulele to elementary and middle school students. Each year, PIF works with staff officials at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary as well as KairosPDX, a pre-K-5 public charter school, to identify and recruit children who want to learn piano/keyboard, guitar or ukulele. Our teachers then instruct on-site at these schools, teaching children not only how to play their instruments but also how to read and write music AND compose their own songs. This gives children a sense of ownership of their work, instilling a sense of pride in what they do as well as giving them a lifetime of creative memories. On that note, we’d like to share what a fifth-grader at KairosPDX recently shared with us in a student survey. “Most of the time you play something, it’s something someone has already wrote,” the child said. “When you write your own music, you get that personal connection that you don’t get when you play someone else's.” Each year, PIF hosts public recitals for our students, and also puts on recitals at the end of our summer songwriting camps. These performances punctuate weeks of work the children put in, enabling them to share the gift of their music with friends, schoolmates, teachers and family members. “One of my favorite moments is when our PIF students present their hard work at the end of year recital,” Principal Seidel says. “The students are all in community together, in front of their loved ones, and also on the stage all by themselves. It is a challenging experience that I wish upon all of our students!" In addition to providing students no-cost lessons, our Instruments for Change program gifts them with free instruments for life. Not only do our students benefit, but their family members get to enjoy the instrument as well, and families have let us know how a donated piano or keyboard has become a centerpiece of their shared life. We also donate instruments to music programs in schools and community centers throughout rural Oregon and SW Washington. Our robust instrument donation program has gifted children, schools and other groups hundreds and hundreds of free pianos, guitars, ukuleles, horns, and other musical instruments. Summer Camps Since 2021, we have provided children with free fun and educational summer songwriting camps, in partnership with the Portland Public School District, where they learn how to write and perform their own songs, create a songbook and participate in various activities, including arts and crafts, food-making and field days. In Summer 2024, we are excited to note that not only will we offer our annual school site camp, but are also partnering with OMSI to put on a “Musical Science” camp. Family Feedback We’d like to conclude by sharing this wonderful letter a student’s mother recently sent us. “Our amazing 10-year-old son is diving into…the piano, all thanks to his dedication and the support of the fantastic nonprofit organization, Play It Forward,” she wrote. “Witnessing his musical journey blossom in the second year of lessons fills my heart with pride and joy. The dedication, discipline and love for music he’s developing are truly inspiring. A special shout out to Play It Forward for providing this invaluable opportunity, making music education accessible to all.”