ARC-FL PROJECT NEWS

AFC-FL COALITION PROJECT SUMMARY

October 2010

CBC has been unable to satisfy the budgetary demands of the Arc of Frederick County and therefore will surrender involvement in this potentially great project.  We wish all at the ARC of Frederick County the best of luck with their future endeavors and encourage you to check out The Freddie Long Band www.freddielong.com. Let's all support the efforts of this talented musician and wonderful humanitarian!

Overview

The Arc of Frederick County (AFC), Maryland, assists persons with developmental disabilities and their families to obtain some of the services needed to help them become as independent as possible and to enjoy quality of life within their community.

Recently, AFC has added Music Appreciation Classes to its list of programs and services, thanks in large part to its relationship with a talented, compassionate and highly successful musician, Freddie Long, who agreed to put together a pilot music program.

Creative Bridge Coalition was invited to explore ways in which this successful pilot endeavor might be helped to grow and expand. This coalition project, once funded, will cover a two-year period providing music appreciation sessions (a total of sixteen per year) for young children and youth served by the AFC. During these years, our project is designed to "capture," in modular form, four distinct "themes" that the program will present during a given year, each theme consisting of four sessions. Each of these modules will be designed to introduce participants to a different genre of music and invite them to enjoy and explore the music in participatory fashion. During year two of this endeavor, the project will refine this thematic music appreciation curriculum, while adding specific learning components that focus on various life, literacy and recreational skills.

Creative Bridge Coalition will provide a curriculum consultant for this work, along with a program evaluator to track the program's ongoing success from the perspective of its various participants. At the culmination of our two year project, we anticipate having developed a comprehensive Music Appreciation/Education program that the AFC (and Freddie Long) can use in the future. In addition, as a result of our program evaluation efforts, we hope to have helped the AFC secure future resources that will help sustain this program and the good that it brings to those who participate in it.

July 2010

We are enthusiastic about the funding possibilities that this project presents. The project's narrative and accompanying budget are complete and we are about to move to the funding stage. The enthusiasm from the folks at the Arc of Frederick County, MD and from Freddie Long keep us pumped up about the likelihood that this coalition will soon see funding dollars.