Terre Haute School of Rock!
Vital Stats
Amanda T
Terre Haute, IN- people helped300
- People Doing It 30
The Problem
Terre Haute, Indiana is a large community of 59,900 diverse residents. While Terre Haute has always been rich in arts, the decline in available employment has taken its toll on the community. Families are struggling more than ever just to put food on the tables. Yes, the US is in a recession, and the rise of poverty is prevelent all over the country. But, Terre Haute has been affected substantially in comparison to other parts of the country. Jobs are disappearing, valued employees are being replaced with temps, and small businesses keep going under. With little or no spending money in their pockets, kids are resorting to "free" passtime activities. Loitering, shoplifting, and vandalism are just a few issues that have increased since the recession. We have an idea of how to keep kids off the streets AND enrich their lives.
Plan of Action
We want to expand! Not only do we want to offer classes for other instruments, we also want to offer free voice lessons in a safe and fun environment. So far, we've made it through three sessions, but unfortunately, we had to relocate. Because we are no longer associated with TH's ArtReach program, we aren't able to utilize the space or the equipment that belongs to their organization. School of Rock is now an independent organization, which could be a blessing in disquise! The Roxy Studio of Terre Haute has lent us a space in their studio, but funding is still a bit of a problem. We would love to be able to rent our own personalized venue, increase the amount of instruments we have on hand to loan out to students, and have the money to advertise a little so that the community is aware of our program. Eventually, we would love to have a large passenger van so that we can offer transportation to potential students that don't have a ride. We want this to be big! The students that have been through the sessions thus far have thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and some of them opted to retake the sessions as junior instructors.

