Can You Imagine...

...what it would be like to actually perform in Carnagie Hall in New York City???

My daughter, Petra (some of you know her as "dragon lova" here) is a Freshman at Judson High School and is in the band. I can't tell you how hard these kids work throughout the entire school year as they strive toward a level of excellence few high school bands ever achieve.

This year, the Judson HS Honor Band was invited to participate in the National Youth Concert this spring in NYC at Carnagie Hall! Only eight ensambles out of the entire United States were invited to this prestigious performance opportunity. In addition to the Carnagie Hall performance, the entire band will give a public concert on Ellis Island at the feet of the Statue of Liberty. The kids will also get to have some fun while in NY and attend a Broadway play, as well as a few other exciting activities.

This is seriously a "chance of a lifetime" for Petra and all the students in the "Rocket Band." Petra is not in the Honor Band this year, but she will have the pride and pleasure of sitting in Carnagie Hall and watching her friends and peers perform on a stage that all musicians dream of, but only a handful ever achieve. I'm so excited for her I could just bust!

Of course, there is always a catch to something like this. The school district will allow the trip, but will not finance it in any way. It is up to each student to raise their own cost of the trip...which is $1650. Several standard fundraisers are scheduled throughout the year (Cookie dough...magazines...you know the drill) but they ultimately have only a small impact on the overall cost of the trip, even if the student is an aggressive and skilled salesperson. (Of which we are neither! LOL)

The other opportunity for fundraising is Corporate Sponsorship. And this is where my beloved friends and family here come into the picture. ;) It would be such a blessing to us to find sponsors for Petra's trip!

Donor categories are offered at the following financial benchmarks and will be mentioned in all program publications school wide:
"Maestro" -- $1650 (supports the entire cost of one trip)
"Conductor's Circle" -- $825 (supports half the cost of one trip)
"Composer's Circle" -- $500
"Director's Circle" -- $200
"Band Member" -- $100

The Judson Band Booster Organization is a non-profit 501-C3 educational organization. Your sponsorship will be tax deductible.

Can you imagine the school flyers and the concert programs with some awesome REPTILE businesses featured? Petra would be the coolest kid on campus! :D

Thank you all, so much, for reading through my ramblings...and even if it's only an encouraging word (of which this place is a treasure trove!) every bit of support is sincerely, deeply appreciated.

:grouphug:

Judy,


What an awesome opportunity for Petra and I hope that you are succesful in raising the money necessary to send her! It WOULD be cool to have her reptile friends' names on the literature! :D

Thanks, Robin!! :love:

now that is pretty darn cool!!!

what instrument does she play? I used to be a little drummer boy.. :oops:

Trumpet! :D

You must be so proud what an opportunity :clap:

SantaPython will be a "Band Member" :oops:

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Originally Posted by cueball

SantaPython will be a "Band Member" :oops:

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Band Members ROCK!!! Thank you SantaPython!!! :hug:

Thanks! I appreiciate the donation! :D :D Yea, I'm stoked to go to NewYork, and play @ the statue of liberty. We're going to take lots of private tours. I've talked to a lot of people and they say it's quite an experience. So I really appreiciate your kind words and generousity. Thank you!!!!!! :D

is there a link for donations?

congrats petra... what an honour and a memory you will be creating!

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Originally Posted by recycling goddess

is there a link for donations?

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I don't know of an Internet connection/link for donations....BUT...we are having a Band/Parent meeting tonight and I will be getting loads more information there. I'll put that on my list of things to ask about and will update this thread with more info tomorrow. :)

thanks judy! :hug:

Hey Judy, when does this money need to be raised by?

Ok....here's some more info that I learned last night.


There is no website or link for online donations. (Corporate sponsorship is a rather new element to their fundraising, so not a lot of bells'n'whistles for it yet.)

There is a simple form which must be filled out and mailed in with the check. That will give them all your business info as well as the name of the child you're sponsoring. And in return, they'll send back a Thank You letter with a tax receipt.

For the lower levels of donations, your business name will appear on all band publications (including programs for ALL their concerts and events) throughout the entire school year. Larger donations can get a more prominant mention on those publications. And if anyone wants to be really generous and sponsor more than one child, they can have their business name and logo painted permanently on the side of the band's equipment truck! (A really nice 18-wheel semi!!) And I would SO get pictures of that!!! And Ms. Prodervand (the band director) said that anyone with a large donation should feel free to make suggestions about how their business might be promoted. If it's within her power to do so, she'll be happy to accomodate.

We do have a few months to get the money raised...but each month I have to meet a minimum goal to stay current....so as much help up front and along the way as possible is deeply appreciated.

This afternoon, I'll find (or make) an electronic version of the Sponsorship form and make that available for download. Or I can snail-mail a copy to anyone who wants it.

And lastly....anyone who is able to help out will recieve (from Petra) a letter with photos of her trip and a CD of their concert performances.

Thank you all again...so very much!!! Your support in this means more than I know how to say!!!

:grouphug:

Sorry for the delay!


Here is a .doc you can download and print out. It includes the info on different levels of sponsorship and the simple form to fill out and send in with the donation....as well as an address to send it to.

Student: Petra Clothier ;)

They have to raise that kind of money just to sit in the audience? :O:confused:

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Originally Posted by sw204me

They have to raise that kind of money just to sit in the audience? :O:confused:

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:confused: They're not "just sitting in the audience." They're flying from Texas to New York City...staying in a very nice hotel (On the Jersey side 'cause it's less expensive :P )....getting to do several great tours and see a musical...AND the entire band will perform a special show on Ellis Island. That's in addition to the Honor Band playing at Carnagie Hall.