2013-04-15
In his day job, Mike Hess is a family practice physician in Bridgeport. He’s also a
musician who understands the importance of keeping music programs alive in the
area’s schools.
About a year ago, he started the Child Instrument Recycle Program (Chirp) to make used
musical instruments available to promising music students who can’t afford to
buy new or used instruments on their own.
“Chirp brings together the desire of young students who want to learn to play an
instrument with used, donated instruments,” Hess said. “We’re trying to keep
people buying into music at a time when a lot of programs are being cut for
lack of funding. Our long-term purpose is to help children benefit from music
education that can stay with them for the rest of their lives.”
So far, Chirp has collected about 40 instruments of all kinds, ranging from flutes,
clarinets, trumpets and trombones to a snare drum and a xylophone. “We collect
the donations, send them to Bandland Music in Clarksburg to get them fixed if
they need repairs and then notify band directors in Harrison County schools
about what instruments we have,” Hess said. “If they have students who want to
play music but can’t afford an instrument, we’ll give one to them so they can
learn.”
Schools in Harrison County start teaching band classes in fourth and fifth grade, so most
of the instruments go to elementary and middle school students under what Chirp
calls “scholarships.” Students have to maintain a good grade point average and
be in good standing with the school to be eligible for an instrument.
“It’s a lot of fun, collecting these instruments and then giving them to kids who need
them,” Hess said. The next collection will take place on Saturday, April 27,
from 9 am. until 9 p.m. at the charity booth near the Marshalls store at
Meadowbrook Mall in Bridgeport. Anyone can drop by the booth to donate a
musical instrument to Chirp.
Hess also accepts monetary donations to an endowment fund he started in 2011 through Your
Community Foundation (YCF). Once the endowment is fully funded, YCF will invest
the money and all future donations to increase its value, and distribute the
annual net income from those investments to Chirp to help cover instrument
repairs and other costs associated with the program.
All donations of instruments or money are tax-deductible.