Playing for Change

I came to see this video through my friend Judith, and I cannot explain the effect this had on me. To see these musicians from all over the world connecting, to see their faces, their talent--I was just so caught up in it.
I had to find out where this came from and how it came to be. This video was produced by The Playing for Change Foundation, which has such a beautiful mission: To build and connect music and art schools around the world.
In case no one has noticed, art, drama, and music programs are being cut from school curriculums at an alarming rate. I joined the Americans for the Arts last year as I heard more and more about this school or that school cutting these programs.
Many people have said that schools will never cut the sports programs, but the arts always hit the chopping block. I believe this to be true, but I wouldn't want any sports programs to be cut for the very reasons I want to fight to keep the arts and music in our schools. Every child is unique and different, their talents may lie in one area or many. But sometimes that one talent, whether it be painting or throwing a football, is their saving grace. It is the one thing they feel to be their own, and if it's not to be their future, it may be the thing that gives them just enough pride and self confidence to succeed at anything else they want to do.
We also need to educate and raise our children to be well rounded, to expose them to all opportunities so that their view of the world becomes richer, and their contributions to the world become more varied and enlightening. Even if the arts is not a career, a child exposed to the beauty of music or the love of art will appreciate the world in a much deeper way.
I speak from experience. I was an excellent student growing up, excelling in language arts, the subjects where I could express myself and write. I was, however, terrible at math and science. I was and am a creative person, and if I had not had art, music and drama classes in school, I believe wholeheartedly that I would have wondered where I would fit in the world. If there had been none of these classes, I would have believed I was an outcast instead of a unique person with different talents.
This beautiful foundation, Playing for Change, makes me want to drop everything and get on board, go build these schools and inspire children to chase their dreams. We need more foundations like this one. The world's children need them most of all.

Go to the website, join, buy things. Support this organization!