Karli IngersollSongs for Kids Foundation is an organization bringing music to children’s hospitals and special needs camps across the country. I became aware of the work they do through my brother-in-law, Scott while he worked with them in LA. I got to tag along during one of his sessions at a hospital and see first hand the power music can have in a really challenging environment for people who are in the middle of pretty rough times.
The idea is simple. Bring a couple guitars, some percussion instruments and a catalogue of all the hits. Kids and their families gather around in a public area of the hospital or they pay special visits to individual hospital rooms. The musicians go back and forth between requests from the kids and their own top 40 picks. Taylor Swift, The Black Eyed Peas, Katy Perry, Journey…you name it. Kids can pick up a tambourine or sing into a mic if they know the words. Sometimes they even get to lead their favorite tune. The smiles that follow are heart melting.
Songs for Kids is planted year round in just a couple of cities where they do consistent music sessions at specific hospitals. On top of that they do a yearly tour to perform in all the children’s hospitals around America. AND they have a recording project where kids can learn to write, arrange and record their own songs. Bands like Fun, Janelle Monae, Belle and Sebastian and Brett Dennen have participated and supported SFK along the way!
Not only does this project impact children and families who are going through incredibly difficult times but I think it really has the power to impact the local music community as well. As each chapter grows it can employ local musicians on a part time basis to use their skills to do something amazing. It’s a healthy thing for musicians to do something where they aren’t necessarily the important part but just a vehicle for the music and joy of the music to be communicated. All in all it’s an awesome project and I’m so excited to see it spread it’s wings here in Spokane.
There’s a couple ways coming up where you can show your support to help get this local formation of the project off the ground.
This Saturday The Bartlett is hosting a benefit concert featuring a bunch of different local musicians and the founder of Songs For Kids Foundation, Josh Rifkind. You can pay what you want to get in and find out more about how the organization works.
Another cool thing we are doing to support is with the Bartfest Poster Show. Extra prints of posters will be sold for $10 each and all the proceeds will go directly to Songs For Kids in Spokane. Over 30 designers will be involved…more about that later on. But save the date for September 4th so you can make sure to grab a few prints.