Drum It Forward
In 2009 I organized the Drum it Forward project after hearing of the condition of percussion instruments at a local school. My drum student mentioned that his school had no drums to play due to the fact the instruments were in disrepair and no one could fix them. Deciding to do something about it, I arranged with the school to repair their drum set as well as various hand drums and some marimbas. Now their music class had rhythm once again.
I recognized that other teachers may not have the budget or skills to maintain drums and percussion instruments and likely would appreciate this help I could give. I was able to help out numerous schools in the interior of BC offering my skills to fix their drums and percussion - and did several trips... loaded up the RV with my wife, two dogs, boxes of parts and drum heads. I donated 2 - 3 labour hours servicing instruments at each school, college or community music teaching centre; piecing together what they had and drawing from the inventory had I brought along.
Before setting out I had asked my drumming friends to donate any old heads, cymbals and spare parts that they could spare. Before I left each establishment, the schools also offered to donate a variety of their unused, unwanted parts and pieces in turn to help perpetuate the program.
In all, the program was a success, event though I was not formally certified to work within the public school system. Certification requires a heck of a lot of work in advance - I would have had to apply and be approved in a location that was up to 12 hours drive from where I was living at the time. For a work around, the schools that did have me in simply had me work alone with no contact with the students, which ultimately, was beneficial to getting a lot or work done in two hours - uninterrupted.
So, stop yourself the next time you are going to chuck that section of chrome tube, broken cymbal, some nuts and bolts, or the hardware collecting dust that maybe a younger drummer really could use but can't afford... Maybe, just maybe, you can come to the rescue and make a drummer's day - all because you kept something and donated it instead of throwing it away.
Brummet Media YouTube Channel
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