MINDPOP distributes 100 Gibson Guitars to 25 AISD campuses!

The Gibson Foundation, the City of Austin, and MINDPOP are awarding 100 guitars to 25 AISD schools and community arts partners to support music, band, and orchestra programs. The donation of Gibson Guitars furthers the Any Given Child mission to support the development of arts-rich schools and expand creative learning opportunities for Austin school students.  The gift was presented to AISD by the Mayor, the Gibson Foundation, and MINDPOP on December 17th, 2012, in recognition of the prestigious Any Given Child initiative in Austin, earned from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. 

All AISD schools had the opportunity to apply for Gibson Guitars to support their guitar and music programs in Spring of 2013.  MINDPOP will distribute 100 Gibson guitars to 25 AISD schools and community arts partners in May 2013.

Congratulations to schools receiving guitars:
Akins, Anderson, Austin, Crockett, Eastside Memorial, Lanier, LBJ, and Travis High Schools; Gardner Center; Bailey, Bedichek, Burnet, Covington, Dobie, Gorzycki, Kealing, Lamar, Mendez, Murchison, Pearce, Small, and Webb Middle Schools; and Ridgetop Elementary.

These guitars will not only promote the creative development of our students, it will develop the habits of mind that support academic skills useful throughout the lives of these young people.  Almost 1,400 students in the Austin school district participate in guitar programs at 10 high schools and 11 middle schools throughout the city.  Guitar is among the fastest-growing musical instrument choices in AISD as more students are drawn to the string instrument’s strong cultural heritage in genres such as jazz, mariachi and classical music. Gibson’s generous gift of electric guitars will strengthen the district’s fine arts programs, especially for jazz and blues performers.

Austin Creative Classroom Fund Awards

Austin Creative Classroom Fund Awards over $200,000 to AISD Schools
The Austin Creative Classroom Fund sent the second round of funding awards of over $200,000 in 33 grants to 25 schools in Austin ISD, Thursday, May 2, 2013.  The Austin Creative Classroom Fund, funded by an initial donation of $1M from an anonymous donor in Austin supports the city-wide creative learning plan, Any Given Child.  Any Given Child is a partnership between the City of Austin, MINDPOP, Austin ISD, and community arts partners designed to help teachers meet their instructional goals through the arts and increase the breadth and depth of creative opportunities for students.

Congratulations to:
Allison, Blackshear, Blazier, Brown, Campbell, Cunningham, Fulmore, Galindo, Govalle, Hart, Houston, Barbara Jordan, Linder, Lamar, McCallum, Mendez, Oak Springs, Ortega, Perez, Reilly, Rodriguez, Sunset Valley, Travis Heights, Webb, Winn, Widen, and Williams.

The grants awarded demonstrate a wide range of creative learning projects designed to support increased access to arts learning; improved student achievement and engagement through the use of arts-based strategies; and funding specialized materials and equipment designed to improve the quality of creative learning programs for students.

While any campus could apply, priority points were given to elementary schools with an enrollment of more than 60 percent students who are qualified for the federal free and reduced lunch program and officially designated Fine Arts Academies.

Next year’s grant application and funding guidelines will be announced in the winter with a spring 2014 deadline.

Texas Stars Foundation Grant

The Texas Stars Foundation is the official charity of the Texas Stars Hockey Club.  The Foundation strives to utilize the talents and resources of the Texas Stars players, families, staff and ownership to enrich the greater central Texas area. The Foundation has an upcoming grant opportunity available to all AISD schools. The deadline is May 31^st 2013. For more information and application details, please visit http://www.texasstarshockey.com/community/donation-requests.