Another good cause...VH1 Save The Music Foundation

The VH1 Save The Music Foundation was founded in 1997 as a public affairs initiative of the VH1 network. The Foundation’s core mission is to restore instrumental music education programs, ensuring that every child has access to a complete education that includes the benefits of music instruction. Since its inception, The Foundation has remained faithful to and focused on making our mission come to life. Now a 501(c) (3) not for profit organization, The Foundation continues working in close affiliation with its parent network. Tom Calderone, Executive Vice President and General Manager of VH1 serves as the current chairman of The Foundation’s Board of Directors. Each of the past heads of the Network have served in this capacity including, Christina Norman and John Sykes.

The inspiration for The Foundation grew out of John Sykes’s volunteer experience as Principal for a Day at the Brooklyn, New York public school, PS 58 - The Carroll School. John saw first-hand how the students in the music program at PS 58 were struggling due to the great need for musical instruments and he was inspired to dig deeper into the problem and learn more about the benefits a student receives from studying a musical instrument.

As we examined the music education system throughout the nation, we found that music education is not only important for its intrinsic value, but research consistently demonstrated that students who study an instrument enhance their critical thinking skills and their ability to work together as a team. They are more engaged in school and less likely to drop out; and they do significantly better in all of their academic endeavors. Upon seeing the facts about the benefits of music education in a young person’s life, VH1 started The Foundation. Since that visionary moment, the VH1 Save The Music Foundation has proudly restored over 1,600 instrumental music programs in more than 100 cities nationwide, putting instruments into the hands of 1.2 million children. The Foundation is able to make grants of music education programs because of the generous support from its corporate sponsors, foundations, individuals and partners.