SAN FRANCISCO, March 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- StubHub, the
world's largest event marketplace, announced today a three-year
commitment to put over $3MM in instruments into at-risk public
school music programs across the country, in partnership with the
Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation
(MHOF). The commitment is made possible by a grant from the
StubHub Foundation, a corporate-advised fund of Silicon Valley
Community Foundation, that extends the existing four-year
partnership with the Mr. Holland's
Opus Foundation.
Building on its 2015 commitment, that has already helped put
more than $2MM in instruments into public schools, StubHub aims to
achieve a truly collective impact through investment, elevated
exposure for the cause and opportunities for youth to be inspired
by musicians, igniting a renewed passion for giving and support
within the community. Selected markets will be chosen
collaboratively by StubHub, MHOF and partner artists and brands,
with awarded schools to be chosen by MHOF through its established
selection criteria. Interested schools are invited to inquire
directly through MHOF.
"We believe that music needs to be a core component of education
in America," said Perkins Miller,
GM, North America, StubHub.
"Numerous studies have shown the benefits that music education
plays in student enrichment and development, which is why we are
proud to support the efforts of the Mr. Hollands Opus Foundation
and all those who help keep music alive in schools across
America."
The Next Stage program is set to kick off today at SXSW with the
first benefitting school – Bedichek Middle School in Austin, Texas – receiving more than
$12K in music instruments for their
string and marching band programs. Today, students will be
treated to a private acoustic performance by Jukebox the Ghost and
then will serve as the opening performer for StubHub's two-day SXSW
Next Stage showcase at Banger's in downtown Austin.
While at SXSW, StubHub will also be capturing the voices of the
18 artists, who will be performing at their Next Stage activation,
to help raise awareness and engage more people. Music fans are
invited to donate to the cause by texting "NEXTSTAGE" to
800771.
"As a Title I school, 99 percent of students rent
instruments from the school because they cannot afford to rent
their own. With this donation from StubHub, the quality of
instruments we received puts us on the same playing field for
competitions with other wealthier schools in the area, as well as
supplies instrument needs in our program," said Samantha Stewart, Orchestra Director
at Bedichek Middle School in Austin.
StubHub's commitment continues to be an important one as music
education is seeing dwindling public and private support, with low
income school students receiving the least amount of local
government funding, according to the National Center for Education.
Research from the Mr. Holland's
Opus Foundation shows that schools with music programs have an
estimated 90 percent graduation rate and 93 percent attendance rate
compared to schools without music education, which average 72
percent for graduation and 85 percent in attendance.
To date, StubHub and the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation have successfully
delivered more than $2MM in music instruments to more than 50
schools across the United States. Over the lifetime of the
instruments, more than 100,000 kids across the country will benefit
from this support.
"So much has been made possible through our relationship with
StubHub, and receiving this grant truly changes the game in giving
the benefits of music education to thousands of deserving and
hopeful children," said Felice
Mancini, President of the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation. With StubHub's
commitment to music education for all kids, we can delight in
seeing eager kids' faces light up when they hold new, beautiful
instruments. Their lives and spirits are elevated, and the power of
music is at work."
More information about benefitting markets, schools and ways to
participate will be announced at a later date. To learn more, visit
www.stubhub.com/givingback.
ABOUT THE MR. HOLLAND'S OPUS
FOUNDATION:
The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation was inspired by
the acclaimed motion picture Mr. Holland's Opus, the story of the
profound effect a dedicated music teacher had on generations of
students. The film's composer, Michael
Kamen, started the foundation in 1996 as his commitment to
the future of music education. The Foundation keeps music
alive in our schools by donating musical instruments to
under-funded music programs, and vital support services to
school districts nationwide, giving economically-disadvantaged
youth access to the many benefits of music education, leading
them to success in school, and inspiring creativity
and expression through playing music. Hundreds of
thousands of students across the country have benefited and more
than 24,000 instruments have been donated to 1,510 school music
programs. Please visit mhopus.org for more information.
Please visit www.mhopus.org for more information.
ABOUT STUBHUB FOUNDATION
The StubHub Foundation's (a
corporate advised fund at Silicon Valley Community Foundation)
mission is to expand access and opportunity for at-risk youth by
supporting locally rooted, grassroots non-profit organizations
working in sports, music, arts and tech-based youth development. In
addition, as a leading technology company, we support organizations
working to improve access and opportunity for at-risk youth through
other means such as college and career readiness, technical
training and education around the myriad career opportunities that
exist within the technology sector.
ABOUT STUBHUB
At StubHub, our mission is simple: help
fans find fun. We connect fans with their favorite teams, shows and
artists and introduce them to the ones they'll love next. As the
largest ticket marketplace in the world, we enable fans to buy and
sell tickets to tens of thousands of events, whenever they want,
through our desktop and mobile experiences, including our StubHub
app for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Android. Offering a superior
fan experience at its core, StubHub reinvented the ticket resale
market in 2000 and continues to lead it through innovation. Our
industry firsts include the introduction of the first ticketing
application, the first interactive seat mapping tool and the first
live entertainment rewards program, Fan Rewards™. Our business
partners include more than 130 properties in MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS and
NCAA, plus AEG, AXS and Paciolan. With the acquisition of Ticketbis
in August 2016, throughout the world,
StubHub provides the total end-to-end event going experience.
StubHub is an eBay company (NASDAQ: EBAY). For more
information on StubHub, visit StubHub.com or follow @StubHub on
Twitter, Facebook and Instagram or YouTube.com/StubHub.
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