Volunteer projects

MusicalMatch

Submitted by jrushakoff on Sun, 11/30/2008 - 20:34.

Vital Stats

 ongoing project
 05/01/2007
  2800
 70
 $1000 (Rosenblatt Summer Fellowship)

The Problem

The purpose of the project is to meet the needs of two constituencies, young performers and seniors, through a single vehicle. Residents of nursing homes and senior centers are not able to leave their facilities to see "live" musical performances; they very much appreciate not only the performance/musical component but also the visits and attention of young people. Young musicians spend hundreds of hours mastering their repertoires with extremely limited opportunities for others to hear the product. It is incredibly difficult for young musicians to navigate the details of arranging performances at nursing homes and senior centers by themselves.

Why It's Important

Simply put, MusicalMatch is a new service to match talented young musicians who want to perform with nursing homes and senior centers that are in search of entertainment for their residents. Nursing homes and senior centers interested in having young performers come visit and entertain their residents are encouraged to register on the website and provide specific contact information, including the days and times when performances can be scheduled. Student musicians also are able to register on the website, entering their contact information, instrument played or type of musical group, their musical background, and current repertoire. The nursing homes and senior centers can then search for musicians they would like to have perform for them. The musician can search to find the facility that seems to best match his or her location and availability. Each side can contact the other directly, either by an onsite e-mail link or by phone, to finalize the performance details.

The Plan Of Action

During my sophomore year of high school(1.5 years ago), I conceived and designed a way for talented young musicians to share their expertise with residents of senior centers and nursing homes. I applied for ad received the Rosenblatt Summer Fellowship, a grant awarded each year to one student in my high school to support community service work. That summer I created a website, www.musicalmatch.org, to link musicians and nursing homes. The following fall was dedicated to finding musicians who could perform and nursing homes looking for entertainment. I sent letters to nursing homes, private instrumental music teachers, and heads of music departments in San Francisco middle and high schools introducing MusicalMatch. I quickly learned that starting a new business, even a well-meaning non-profit, was not so easy. The next months were full of follow up-calls with music teachers and activities directors at the various nursing homes to generate interest in the program. MusicalMatch picked up steam as nursing homes and musicians signed up on the website throughout last all and winter. Dozens of performances took place last year, bringing live music into the lives of hundreds of nursing home residents. A successful slate of concerts last spring culminated with filling a request from San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s Project Homeless Connect to provide musicians for their spring day-long program, which served more than 2,000 homeless individuals. It was gratifying beyond words to see a crowd surrounding the stage throughout the day, as many enjoyed a soothing break from their turbulent lives.

How Can Others Get Involved?

 www.musicalmatch.org

Project Updates

No updates found!

Final Grant Update

08/2/09
Josh Rushakoff
Number of people in the organization: 4- 1 SF director, 1 Portland director, 2 SF Area outreach helpers.
Number of people impacted: 3000
Describe the impact the grant had: Winning the Grammy Key Change Grant has greatly helped MusicalMatch. Not only was I able to complete a series of needed website updates, we are set to launch a second branch of MusicalMatch in the Portland, Oregon are this fall. The grant money has secured the future of my project, MusicalMatch, and enabled its first, and hopefully not last, expansion.
Project highlights: 1) Thanksgiving Day 2007- Our first concert at a Senior Center in Marin County, CA. Seeing my project finally come to life with a number of pianists entertaining the residents of this senior center and their families on Thanksgiving Day proved that all my hard work had been worth it. The project was met with overpoweringly positive responses from both the pianists and the audience members at this first concert. 2) June 6, 2008- A highlight of the first year was an opportunity for musicians to perform at the Project Homeless Connect event on June 6, 2008. This event, which provides basic services to the homeless in San Francisco, provided performers with a huge, very appreciative audience. 3) Fall 2009- The expected launch of a second branch of MusicalMatch in Portland, Oregon. Made possible by the support of the Key Change Grant, this anticipated expansion will be one of this highlights of the project so far.
How did the project unfold and develop? During my sophomore year of high school(2 years ago), I conceived and designed a way for talented young musicians to share their expertise with residents of senior centers and nursing homes. I applied for and received the Rosenblatt Summer Fellowship, a grant awarded each year to one student in my high school to support community service work. That summer I created a website, www.musicalmatch.org, to link musicians and nursing homes. The following fall was dedicated to finding musicians who could perform and nursing homes looking for entertainment. I sent letters to nursing homes, private instrumental music teachers, and heads of music departments in San Francisco middle and high schools introducing MusicalMatch. I quickly learned that starting a new business, even a well-meaning non-profit, was not so easy. The next months were full of follow up-calls with music teachers and activities directors at the various nursing homes to generate interest in the program. MusicalMatch picked up steam as nursing homes and musicians signed up on the website throughout last fall and winter. Dozens of performances took place last year, bringing live music into the lives of hundreds of nursing home residents. A successful slate of concerts last spring culminated with filling a request from San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s Project Homeless Connect to provide musicians for their spring day-long program, which served more than 2,000 homeless individuals. It was gratifying beyond words to see a crowd surrounding the stage throughout the day, as many enjoyed a soothing break from their turbulent lives. The databases of performers and nursing homes has steadily grown since inception. Next we have updated the website with a feedback form to be filled out by both the musicians and the nursing homes after a concert reporting on the other party. The survey allows the administrator (me) to keep track of the number of concerts being performed, and ensure quality control on the website. I am able to use this new information reported from past performances to update the musician's or nursing home's profile. This information is saved directly into a data form connected to the website. The project continues to unfold as we are about to expand the service to the Portland Area.

Location

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Is this a...: 
ongoing project
Web site link: 
www.musicalmatch.org
How many people are directly involved in your project? : 
70
How many people has your project helped?  : 
2800
Location(s)



San Francisco, CA, 94115
See map: Google Maps
What's the problem you are trying to solve?: 
The purpose of the project is to meet the needs of two constituencies, young performers and seniors, through a single vehicle. Residents of nursing homes and senior centers are not able to leave their facilities to see "live" musical performances; they very much appreciate not only the performance/musical component but also the visits and attention of young people. Young musicians spend hundreds of hours mastering their repertoires with extremely limited opportunities for others to hear the product. It is incredibly difficult for young musicians to navigate the details of arranging performances at nursing homes and senior centers by themselves.  
Why is it important to you?: 
Simply put, MusicalMatch is a new service to match talented young musicians who want to perform with nursing homes and senior centers that are in search of entertainment for their residents.

Nursing homes and senior centers interested in having young performers come visit and entertain their residents are encouraged to register on the website and provide specific contact information, including the days and times when performances can be scheduled. Student musicians also are able to register on the website, entering their contact information, instrument played or type of musical group, their musical background, and current repertoire. The nursing homes and senior centers can then search for musicians they would like to have perform for them. The musician can search to find the facility that seems to best match his or her location and availability. Each side can contact the other directly, either by an onsite e-mail link or by phone, to finalize the performance details.
What's your plan of action?: 
During my sophomore year of high school(1.5 years ago), I conceived and designed a way for talented young musicians to share their expertise with residents of senior centers and nursing homes.  I applied for ad received the Rosenblatt Summer Fellowship, a grant awarded each year to one student in my high school to support community service work.  That summer I created a website, www.musicalmatch.org, to link musicians and nursing homes. 
The following fall was dedicated to finding musicians who could perform and nursing homes looking for entertainment. I sent letters to nursing homes, private instrumental music teachers, and heads of music departments in San Francisco middle and high schools introducing MusicalMatch.  I quickly learned that starting a new business, even a well-meaning non-profit, was not so easy.  The next months were full of follow up-calls with music teachers and activities directors at the various nursing homes to generate interest in the program.  MusicalMatch picked up steam as nursing homes and musicians signed up on the website throughout last all and winter. Dozens of performances took place last year, bringing live music into the lives of hundreds of nursing home residents.
A successful slate of concerts last spring culminated with filling a request from San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s Project Homeless Connect to provide musicians for their spring day-long program, which served more than 2,000 homeless individuals.  It was gratifying beyond words to see a crowd surrounding the stage throughout the day, as many enjoyed a soothing break from their turbulent lives.  
Total hours volunteered (to date): 
350
Start Date: 
05/01/2007
Money Raised: 
$1000 (Rosenblatt Summer Fellowship)

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The following fall was dedicated to finding musicians who could perform and nursing homes looking for entertainment. I sent letters to nursing homes, private instrumental music teachers, and heads of music departments in San Francisco middle and high schools introducing MusicalMatch.  I quickly learned that starting a new business, even a well-meaning non-profit, was not so easy.  The next months were full of follow up-calls with music teachers and activities directors at the various nursing homes to generate interest in the program.  MusicalMatch picked up steam as nursing homes and musicians signed up on the website throughout last all and winter. Dozens of performances took place last year, bringing live music into the lives of hundreds of nursing home residents.
A successful slate of concerts last spring culminated with filling a request from San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s Project Homeless Connect to provide musicians for their spring day-long program, which served more than 2,000 homeless individuals.  It was gratifying beyond words to see a crowd surrounding the stage throughout the day, as many enjoyed a soothing break from their turbulent lives.  
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The following fall was dedicated to finding musicians who could perform and nursing homes looking for entertainment. I sent letters to nursing homes, private instrumental music teachers, and heads of music departments in San Francisco middle and high schools introducing MusicalMatch.  I quickly learned that starting a new business, even a well-meaning non-profit, was not so easy.  The next months were full of follow up-calls with music teachers and activities directors at the various nursing homes to generate interest in the program.  MusicalMatch picked up steam as nursing homes and musicians signed up on the website throughout last all and winter. Dozens of performances took place last year, bringing live music into the lives of hundreds of nursing home residents.
A successful slate of concerts last spring culminated with filling a request from San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s Project Homeless Connect to provide musicians for their spring day-long program, which served more than 2,000 homeless individuals.  It was gratifying beyond words to see a crowd surrounding the stage throughout the day, as many enjoyed a soothing break from their turbulent lives.  
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Is this a...: 
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How many people are directly involved in your project? : 
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How many people has your project helped?  : 
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See map: Google Maps
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What's the problem you are trying to solve?: 
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Nursing homes and senior centers interested in having young performers come visit and entertain their residents are encouraged to register on the website and provide specific contact information, including the days and times when performances can be scheduled. Student musicians also are able to register on the website, entering their contact information, instrument played or type of musical group, their musical background, and current repertoire. The nursing homes and senior centers can then search for musicians they would like to have perform for them. The musician can search to find the facility that seems to best match his or her location and availability. Each side can contact the other directly, either by an onsite e-mail link or by phone, to finalize the performance details.

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The following fall was dedicated to finding musicians who could perform and nursing homes looking for entertainment. I sent letters to nursing homes, private instrumental music teachers, and heads of music departments in San Francisco middle and high schools introducing MusicalMatch.  I quickly learned that starting a new business, even a well-meaning non-profit, was not so easy.  The next months were full of follow up-calls with music teachers and activities directors at the various nursing homes to generate interest in the program.  MusicalMatch picked up steam as nursing homes and musicians signed up on the website throughout last all and winter. Dozens of performances took place last year, bringing live music into the lives of hundreds of nursing home residents.
A successful slate of concerts last spring culminated with filling a request from San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s Project Homeless Connect to provide musicians for their spring day-long program, which served more than 2,000 homeless individuals.  It was gratifying beyond words to see a crowd surrounding the stage throughout the day, as many enjoyed a soothing break from their turbulent lives.  

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What's the problem you are trying to solve?: 
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Why is it important to you?: 
Simply put, MusicalMatch is a new service to match talented young musicians who want to perform with nursing homes and senior centers that are in search of entertainment for their residents.

Nursing homes and senior centers interested in having young performers come visit and entertain their residents are encouraged to register on the website and provide specific contact information, including the days and times when performances can be scheduled. Student musicians also are able to register on the website, entering their contact information, instrument played or type of musical group, their musical background, and current repertoire. The nursing homes and senior centers can then search for musicians they would like to have perform for them. The musician can search to find the facility that seems to best match his or her location and availability. Each side can contact the other directly, either by an onsite e-mail link or by phone, to finalize the performance details.
What's your plan of action?: 
During my sophomore year of high school(1.5 years ago), I conceived and designed a way for talented young musicians to share their expertise with residents of senior centers and nursing homes.  I applied for ad received the Rosenblatt Summer Fellowship, a grant awarded each year to one student in my high school to support community service work.  That summer I created a website, www.musicalmatch.org, to link musicians and nursing homes. 
The following fall was dedicated to finding musicians who could perform and nursing homes looking for entertainment. I sent letters to nursing homes, private instrumental music teachers, and heads of music departments in San Francisco middle and high schools introducing MusicalMatch.  I quickly learned that starting a new business, even a well-meaning non-profit, was not so easy.  The next months were full of follow up-calls with music teachers and activities directors at the various nursing homes to generate interest in the program.  MusicalMatch picked up steam as nursing homes and musicians signed up on the website throughout last all and winter. Dozens of performances took place last year, bringing live music into the lives of hundreds of nursing home residents.
A successful slate of concerts last spring culminated with filling a request from San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s Project Homeless Connect to provide musicians for their spring day-long program, which served more than 2,000 homeless individuals.  It was gratifying beyond words to see a crowd surrounding the stage throughout the day, as many enjoyed a soothing break from their turbulent lives.  

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Start Date: 
05/01/2007

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Money Raised: 
$1000 (Rosenblatt Summer Fellowship)

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Total hours volunteered (to date): 
350
Start Date: 
05/01/2007
Money Raised: 
$1000 (Rosenblatt Summer Fellowship)

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Is this a...: 
ongoing project
Web site link: 
www.musicalmatch.org
How many people are directly involved in your project? : 
70
How many people has your project helped?  : 
2800
Location(s)



San Francisco, CA, 94115
See map: Google Maps
What's the problem you are trying to solve?: 
The purpose of the project is to meet the needs of two constituencies, young performers and seniors, through a single vehicle. Residents of nursing homes and senior centers are not able to leave their facilities to see "live" musical performances; they very much appreciate not only the performance/musical component but also the visits and attention of young people. Young musicians spend hundreds of hours mastering their repertoires with extremely limited opportunities for others to hear the product. It is incredibly difficult for young musicians to navigate the details of arranging performances at nursing homes and senior centers by themselves.  
Why is it important to you?: 
Simply put, MusicalMatch is a new service to match talented young musicians who want to perform with nursing homes and senior centers that are in search of entertainment for their residents.

Nursing homes and senior centers interested in having young performers come visit and entertain their residents are encouraged to register on the website and provide specific contact information, including the days and times when performances can be scheduled. Student musicians also are able to register on the website, entering their contact information, instrument played or type of musical group, their musical background, and current repertoire. The nursing homes and senior centers can then search for musicians they would like to have perform for them. The musician can search to find the facility that seems to best match his or her location and availability. Each side can contact the other directly, either by an onsite e-mail link or by phone, to finalize the performance details.
What's your plan of action?: 
During my sophomore year of high school(1.5 years ago), I conceived and designed a way for talented young musicians to share their expertise with residents of senior centers and nursing homes.  I applied for ad received the Rosenblatt Summer Fellowship, a grant awarded each year to one student in my high school to support community service work.  That summer I created a website, www.musicalmatch.org, to link musicians and nursing homes. 
The following fall was dedicated to finding musicians who could perform and nursing homes looking for entertainment. I sent letters to nursing homes, private instrumental music teachers, and heads of music departments in San Francisco middle and high schools introducing MusicalMatch.  I quickly learned that starting a new business, even a well-meaning non-profit, was not so easy.  The next months were full of follow up-calls with music teachers and activities directors at the various nursing homes to generate interest in the program.  MusicalMatch picked up steam as nursing homes and musicians signed up on the website throughout last all and winter. Dozens of performances took place last year, bringing live music into the lives of hundreds of nursing home residents.
A successful slate of concerts last spring culminated with filling a request from San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s Project Homeless Connect to provide musicians for their spring day-long program, which served more than 2,000 homeless individuals.  It was gratifying beyond words to see a crowd surrounding the stage throughout the day, as many enjoyed a soothing break from their turbulent lives.  
Total hours volunteered (to date): 
350
Start Date: 
05/01/2007
Money Raised: 
$1000 (Rosenblatt Summer Fellowship)

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Tap For Life says:
 

This sounds amazing. Our group has performed for nursing homes and assisted living facilities. The residents really enjoy the performances and are very grateful for the time that we spend with them. Good Luck!