Give The Gift Of Music; Donate Used Instruments

Did you play an instrument in your youth? Or have fond memories of performing with the marching band or orchestra?

According to science, playing an instrument in school didn’t just create fond memories for you, it actually re-wired your brain for the better. From improved math and reading comprehension skills to a better ability to focus on tasks and remember things, the process and discipline of learning to play an instrument is a proven and powerful tool in improving a child’s success in school.

So if you're just dusting off your old clarinet or violin periodically to see if you can still play it, why not put it to better use? Give new life to your old instrument by donating it to the Bringing Music to Life Instrument Drive, which collects used musical instruments, repairs them, and then donates them to Colorado schools that have underfunded music education programs.

In the 10 years since the Instrument Drive began:

• More than 5,000 instruments have been awarded to schools
• More than 230 under-funded schools have received donated instruments
• More than 15,000 deserving students have played donated instruments (many instruments serving several students each over the years)
• More than $2 million in instruments donated

To find a dropoff location near you, go to BringingMusicToLife.org. Don’t have an instrument to donate? Give instead to the repair fund.

Instruments are meant to be played, not stored under beds. Your instrument could bring joy and music into children’s lives for years to come.

Colorado Public Radio launched the annual instrument drive in 2009. It has since spun off to its own nonprofit headed by former CPR Classical host Steve Blatt.