Thanks for being one of our first funders to "The Corps Project: Funding NKU Vocal Corps and String Project!" Your eagerness to donate tells us that you are a strong supportor of our programs. Thank you! In our first 24 hours, we've raised nearly $500!

Just so you know, your donation has life-changing impact. Here's a touching story from one of our NKU String Project students:

"Music has always been a part of my life, first as a way to communicate because I had developmental challenges and did not talk. Singing helped, piano helped me find motor skills, then violin and guitar, finally cello. What is new for me with the NKU String Project is that I am learning to play with a group of musicians. It challenges me to work in a team, and I enjoy hearing us play together. It is awesome! Being a person with high-functioning autism and ADHD is not easy. Music has definitely been a friend all my life. Music helps me feel normal! I honestly can’t imagine my life without playing music. Music helps me communicate my emotions. Playing instruments has helped my organizational skills and self-discipline. Now, playing in the NKU String Project group I’m developing musically, socially, and having a great time!"

- NKU String Project Student

Your generosity is fueling stories like this. Thanks for being on our team! Please see the below video for a special thank you from some of our students and teaching assistants!

Greetings Corps Project Funders!

Thank you for your generosity! We've raised nearly $1,000 and couldn't have done it without you!

There are many wonderful music programs available to students, but NKU Vocal Corps and the NKU String Project are different: we're giving youth the opportunity to study music AND we're preparing future music educators, since NKU college undergraduate students serve as assistant teachers. When you support our programs, your gift is two-fold: you support youth and support increased preparedness and excellence for tomorrow's music teachers! Not a bad deal!

Speaking of tomorrow's music teachers, watch one story of a NKU Vocal Corps Undergraduate Teaching Assistant tell how NKU Vocal Corps has made him a better teacher.

Please continue to spread the word of our fundraiser to your family and friends: impact.nku.edu.

Thank you!

Hello NKU Corps Project Funders,

We're pleased to announce that we've reached the $1,000 milestone ($1,021 to be exact)! Thank you for your support!

So, how far does $1,021 go in NKU Vocal Corps and String Project? Well, here's what it could go towards:

- We could make 20,420 photocopies!

- We could fund .64 TAs (maybe we'll wait until that gets to a whole number, though!)

- We could buy 204 cello stools from IKEA!

- We could sponsor 204 youth students for a class!

There are many important ways we will put these funds to use. Most importantly, every dollar helps contribute to students being built into through music! Many of our youth students wouldn't have the opportunity of studying music if it weren't for these programs. Please watch one student's story below to see how you are playing a role in changing lives through music. Thank you!

Hello Generous "Corps Project" Funder:

We are happy to report that the "Corps Project" is 25% funded! Your gift is enabling exponential effects through the power of music. It's easy to think of the musical growth a student experiences through music education, but have you considered the other extremely important effects music has on a person's life? Teamwork, belonging, problem solving, discipline, and perseverance are just the tip of the iceberg. Here's what one student writes:

"My life is better because of music and the NKU String Project . . . it taught me to never give up."

- Libby Ponting, 8-year old NKU String Project Prelude Student

"It's a Hard Knock Life" out there. Thanks to people like you, our students can play this tune on their instruments and experience a little less of it in real life.

Thank you for being generous, fueling our programs, and changing lives through music!

Sincerely,

Amy Gillingham
Director of NKU String Project

Dear Corps Project Funders,

We made it! Our campaign is officially over, and I'm happy to report that we reached our goal and then some! We received a $5,000 donation from an anonymous local arts patron that propelled us to reach our goal! Our grand total for the campaign is $6,761—135% of our $5,000 goal!

Even though we're certainly grateful for the large donation, we're just as grateful for each and every donation of $5—and everything in between! Thank you so much for being a faithful supporter of this campaign and our programs. Every $5 really does make a difference; it fuels life-change in and for our students. One of our NKU String Project students says it best:

"I look around and see all the smiling faces, and all I think is that this place can change peoples' lives."

Music really can changes peoples' lives—and you and I get to be a part of it! How powerful and meaningful is this? To hear more stories about the difference music makes in the lives of youth, please watch the below video. Thank you for your generosity!

With sincere thanks,

Amy Gillingham Director, NKU String Project

Dear Corps Project Funders,

Although our campaign is officially over, I wanted to share an update. The NKU String Project recently finished a video expression of the difference music has made in the lives of youth students. Being involved in music for the sake of music is certainly important, and many studies show the positive side effects of music instruction, including higher test scores, motor skills, brain function, and more. However, music also builds into a person's character. A person with developed character skills (perseverance, self-discipline, self-worth, teamwork, belonging, to name a few) is someone who is going to be set-up to succeed in life, no mater what career path s/he chooses. So, it is my pleasure to share with you the below video, "Story Project: How Music Changes Lives." The production of this video was specifically funded by ArtsWave and NKU's Undergraduate Research Council, but it is your donations that are funding the stories we see in the video. It's important to remember that tomorrow's stories start today---your generosity allows for this to happen! Thank you!

Sincerely, 

Amy Gillingham Director, NKU String Project