Jonesboro, Ga. (March 21, 2016) – The Heritage Community Foundation presented a grant to Jerry Hesselink (Founder, Henry for Music) and Lynna Schmidt (President & Artistic Director, Henry Arts Alliance) on March 14, 2016. The $2,000 grant will be used by Henry for Music to service and refurbish donated used musical instruments. Henry for Music anticipates that 50 to 60 instruments will be donated in 2016 and 2017 and that most of the instruments will require some degree of refurbishment before they are ready to play. The average cost for each instrument to be serviced is estimated between $35 and $55. Once the instruments have been refurbished, they will be transferred to local Henry County middle school music instructors to be loaned to students from low-income families.
Henry for Music seeks to help students participate in music education by providing musical instruments to students who currently desire to be members of their school’s orchestra or band, but cannot afford the cost of renting or purchasing an instrument. Henry for Music is modeled after Hungry for Music, an organization out of Washington, D.C. that supports music education by obtaining and distributing musical instruments to under-served children who are “hungry” to play. Henry for Music was formed in 2015 as an affiliate under the nonprofit structure of Henry Arts Alliance. Henry for Music also has a collaborative partnership with Communities in Schools of Henry, Inc., to help fulfill their mission of empowering students to stay in school, providing opportunities to achieve in life through music. Thus far, Mr. Hesselink has partnered with McDonough Music, 184 John Frank Ward Blvd., McDonough, and TLS Music, 3283 Georgia Hwy. 42, Stockbridge. These two stores have agreed to be collection points for instrument donations and will also work to refurbish donated instruments.
For more information on how you can help the community by being a part of the Foundation, please call Rocky Davis, Executive Director, at 770-478-8881.
Heritage Community Foundation (HCF) is a 501c3 organization which provides funding to local nonprofit organizations in Clayton, Henry and Fayette counties. HCF is designed to support Heritage Bank’s first mission, “Committed to those we serve.” The bank absorbs all of the operating costs of the foundation, so 100% of the funds raised go directly to meet community needs.
Heritage Bank, a state chartered commercial bank, has been serving metro Atlanta’s Southern Crescent since 1955. The independent community bank has six full-service offices, features a well-rounded offering of commercial and consumer products, and is an active, involved member of the community it serves. The company’s stock is traded under the symbol “CCFH”.
Photo Front row L to R: Jerry Hesselink (Founder, Henry for Music), Sheri Dockweiler, Lynna Schmidt (President & Artistic Director, Henry Arts Alliance), Stacy Hammons. Back row L to R: Jenny Smith, Rocky Davis, Joey Shedd (Co-Owner, McDonough Music)
