We just held a Winter Kick-off event for all our new and continuing volunteers for the winter semester. It was well attended, and we debuted our music resource library! We have over 100 books in the library and other resources such as flashcards for volunteers to borrow to assist them with their lessons. Lots of our volunteers showed interested and quite a few borrowed books. We have developed an electronic tracking system using a simple spreadsheet on a computer system donated to our office. We are in the midst of another recruiting drive to coincide with the beginning of a university semester, and already many potential volunteers have contacted us!
Heart of the City Piano Program, Edmonton
Submitted by hcpp.edmonton on Wed, 09/09/2009 - 22:22
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In Edmonton, the HCPP is registered as a Student Group at the University of Alberta, run by students in collaboration with the City Centre Education Project. In 2008-2009, HCPP Edmonton operated in 13 schools, and we had 40 volunteer piano teachers teaching 110 students to play the piano.
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HCPP volunteers teach piano to 2 or 3 children for 20 or 30 minutes each for a total of one hour of teaching per week. Including travel time and lesson preparation, the total time commitment per week is approximately 3 hours. Most lessons are after school though some occur during lunch hour. Volunteers teach at inner-city elementary schools where students might not otherwise be able to take piano lessons. Our volunteers promote discipline, community, self-esteem, pride and self-confidence in students.
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The purpose of the Heart of the City Piano Program is to not only teach the children piano and music skills, but to help them build their self confidence as they learn, and develop a sense of pride and accomplishment from their effort and achievement.
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Another goal of the program is to provide positive role models for the children. Ultimately the aim is to ensure at-risk youth make positive choices in life, and enriching their lives with some music.
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A partnership was developed with the City Centre Education Project (CCEP), an “innovative collaboration that allows seven different city centre schools to combine resources, energy and talent, and offers enriched learning opportunities for all students.” The CCEP was able to fund the police information checks of the organization, while the HCPP was able to operate in all seven elementary schools of the project. Elementary schools were in the CCEP were contacted to build the foundation for the program. Meetings with each school were set up to explain the program and to discuss how it would function in the individual school. Most of the time, the music teacher was the contact person between the school and HCPP. Sometimes, the assistant principal or the principal was the main contact person.
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Simultaneously, volunteer piano teachers were recruited at the University of Alberta Clubs Fair and through networks of the executive. The volunteers filled out an application form, police information check and were asked to provide a reference. This process took the first few weeks of September, and after it was finished, they were matched with different schools and teaching times which worked for both the school and the volunteer. Volunteers taught three students for 20 minutes each for a total of one hour of teaching per week. They were given a package which contained the location of the school, a plan for the first few lessons and directions on how to take public transit to the school from the University of Alberta.
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In 2007 it was revamped under the leadership of new executive members. The website was redeveloped and both the volunteer application form and the school application form were put online. Expansions included volunteer events, fundraising commitments and the first annual year-end recital at Muttart Hall, Alberta College Conservatory of Music. These major developments had both immediate and long-lasting results. Each year since 2007, HCPP has added new elementary schools to the program, and in 2008-2009, it operated in 13 elementary schools across Edmonton with over 40 volunteer piano teachers teaching 110 students.
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Feedback from music teachers and principals within the elementary schools has been very encouraging. When music teachers move schools, they have contacted HCPP to set the program up in their new schools while ensuring that the program remains in operation at their old schools. The children and the parents of the children are very grateful for the program. At the year-end recital, volunteers and executives of HCPP get continuous verbal praise from parents and students alike. Additionally, the volunteers enjoy the rewards of the program. Year after year, volunteers register for the program because they have had a great experience in the previous year. Students often request the same volunteer that they had the previous year while volunteers often request to teach the same students.
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HCPP was featured on ACCESS Television during the Alberta Primetime television show which was aired across the province. The University of Alberta Students’ Union awarded HCPP the Community Outreach Award for 2008-2009, an award presented to the registered Student Group at the University of Alberta who has made the greatest overall effort to involve its members in the local/international community.
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the problem:
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada is a diverse city that provides services to over 1 million people (730 000 live in the city limits alone). As in any city, poverty is a concern especially in certain parts of the city. Many children who want to take music lessons are unable to do so for various reasons. Some simply do not have the money to pay for private or even group lessons. Some cannot afford to buy or rent an instrument for practice. Some are not able to find transportation to lessons because their parents are either working or do not have a means of transport themselves. Finally, the child’s musical education may not be supported by his/her family.
vital stats:
people impacted:
3,000people involved:
100why it's important:
The Heart of the City Piano Program (HCPP) began in 1995 as a dream to enhance the lives of at-risk youth through a structured music program. Beginning in Saskatoon, the program expanded nationally to include Edmonton in 2002, and has further expanded into other cities in Canada. This year, HCPP Canada is in the works towards becoming a national registered charity.
the plan of action:
A series of steps were taken to create the Heart of the City Piano Program in Edmonton in 2002. Executive members and a few volunteers were recruited for the organization as Student Group registration requires 10 members. HCPP was then registered as a Student Group at the University of Alberta through the creation of submission of a constitution along with a registration form. This allowed the group to create a bank account, applying for a start-up grant and utilize some of the resources of the university such as meeting space and fundraiser venues. A website and an email account were created under the domain of the University of Alberta.
how you can get involved:
HCPP is always looking for volunteers to teach piano as well as music teachers and administrative staff who are willing to help to start the program in their school. We are also building a library of piano books and learning materials, and any donations of used or new piano books would be greatly appreciated. The program is completely volunteer-run, but we do have some operating costs. Monetary donations would be used to help fund the musical education of inner city children. Please contact us at hcpp@ualberta.ca if you are interested in any of the above.
project updates:
01/12/2010
12/14/2009
We held a successful Winter Celebration Event on November 18 with over 40 children attending. This gave the participants in the program a chance to interact with their peers and their piano teachers outside of the school environment. Some students had never been bowling before, and it was overall, a very rewarding experience.
We are currently developing a music resource library to support volunteers at schools with limited books and other resources. We hope to fully launch this in January right after the Christmas break!
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Comments
This looks like a great project, you should apply for grant (if you haven't already)... go to http://www.dosomething.org/grants for more info and to apply!