On the heels of his headlining performance as the 2016 “Rocker of the Year” at the annual Little Kids Rock Benefit in New York City, Smokey Robinson will be giving students at Pio Pico Middle School in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) a million reasons to make beautiful music. On January 18, Robinson will make a special appearance to hear a new generation’s take on his timeless tunes, deliver brand new instruments, and present a $1 million check donated by Niagara Cares to support Little Kids Rock’s mission of transforming lives by restoring, expanding and innovating music education in public schools.
“Little Kids Rock is such a great organization for supporting the effort for getting our kids in the arts in schools,” Robinson said. “We need to support our kids in as many positive areas as we possibly can. We are not only talking about the future of music; we are talking about the future of our country. We are talking about the future; our future period.”
Robinson’s performance at the sold-out benefit last October not only brought the crowd to its feet but also helped raise $1.1 million to establish youth-centered, culturally relevant music education in schools across the United States. Inspired by Little Kids Rock’s progressive approach, Robinson will second that emotion by presenting a check to the organization for an additional $1 million, on behalf of Niagara Cares, a philanthropic arm of Niagara Bottling that supports initiatives serving children and families in need.
Little Kids Rock partnered with the LAUSD in 2004 and has since distributed more than 7,000 instruments and curricular resources worth more than $2 million. To symbolize the investment that will bring the program to tens of thousands of additional children, Robinson will unveil a surprise of brand new instruments to the school. The nonprofit will then donate instruments and expand the program to 30 more LAUSD schools on Saturday, January 28 at Little Kids Rock’s Modern Band Workshop.
ABOUT LITTLE KIDS ROCK
Little Kids Rock is a national nonprofit dedicated to transforming lives by restoring, expanding, and innovating music education in our schools. The organization partners with public school districts to train teachers to run its innovative Modern Band curriculum, and donates all the accompanying instruments and resources necessary to teach popular music in a way that empowers students to experience instant achievement. What began as a single after-school guitar class has since exploded into a national movement that brings free, weekly music lessons to more than 250,000 public school children through the efforts of more than 1,800 teachers in 127 school districts nationwide. To date, Little Kids Rock has served more than 500,000 students. More info at www.littlekidsrock.org
ABOUT SMOKEY ROBINSON
Once pronounced by Bob Dylan as America’s “greatest living poet,” acclaimed singer-songwriter Smokey Robinson’s career spans over 4 decades of hits. He has received numerous awards including the Grammy Living Legend Award, NARAS Lifetime Achievement Award, Honorary Doctorate (Howard University), Kennedy Center Honors and the National Medal of Arts Award from the President of the United States. He has also been inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame.
ABOUT NIAGARA CARES
Niagara Cares, a philanthropic arm of Niagara Bottling, is committed to supporting local and national community initiatives serving children and families in need by engaging stakeholders and investing its resources. Niagara Cares efforts include national strategic partnerships, local community grants, employee engagement, volunteerism and the Andrew D. Peykoff, Sr. Scholarship Program. For more information, visit http://www.niagarawater.com/niagara-cares.