Music Boosters Contributes $200,000 to Local Music Programs!!  

The  South Portland  Music Boosters  contributed over $200,000 to the music programs in the South Portland School District in the last three years. This includes over $25,000 for instruments and expenses for the Middle schools and over $38,000 in scholarships!! Here is a partial list of number of instruments purchased for the schools in the district: 

Clavinovas (Digital Pianos) – 11               Tenor Saxophones – 2              Clarinets – 3

Bassoon – 1                                          Flugel Horns – 2                       Tympani – 2

Drum line – 1                                         Valve Trombone – 1                  Set of Stage Drums – 1

Upright Bass – 1                                    Bass Guitar – 1

The City of South Portland is very fortunate to have such strong music programs. The Ensembles, Choirs, Jazz, Marching and Concert Bands excel at every performance. The students in these programs truly deserve the pride they inspire in our community. Some interesting facts about the Music Programs are:    

• 91% of the 5th Grade enrollment is in Vocal Music Program. (National Average 25%)
• 53% of the 5th Grade enrollment is in Instrumental Music Program. (National Average 25%)  
• 50% of Memorial enrollment is in a Music Program. (National Average 18%)
• 52% of Mahoney enrollment is in a Music Program. (National Average 18%)
• The Mahoney Jazz Band placed 2nd in the State for 2003 and earned a “1” rating for 2004.
• The Memorial Jazz Band ranked in the top 3 for the State from 1996 – 1999 and earned a “1” rating for 2004.
• 6th Grade Honors Band and Chorus Festival students accepted: 30  
• 7th/8th Grade Honors Band and Chorus Festival students by audition: 45  
• The High School Wind Ensemble has earned a “1” rating for the last 10 years.  
• The High School Jazz Ensemble ranked 1st in the State for 7 years running from 1995 – 2001 and has been in the top 3 from 2002 to present.
• High School District Honors Band and Chorus students by audition: 30
• High School All-State Honors Band, Jazz and Chorus students by audition: 10
• 21% of the High School enrollment is in a Music Program. (National Average 12%)

Every one of the approximately 600 students in a music program from grade 5 through 12 benefits from the year-round efforts of the Music Boosters. You can appreciate the value the Music Boosters add to the music programs of South Portland . 

The Music Boosters run Bingo 52 Saturday nights during the year to make the lion's share of the money we contribute annually to the schools.  We use 35 volunteers each month. The available volunteer pool shrinks this time of year because of graduations and summer vacations.

Please consider volunteering to help the students of South Portland continue in the rich and exciting music programs. Here are 10 reasons to volunteer your time to help with Bingo.  

1. In April, each volunteer shift added over $313.00 to the Music Booster’s bottom line.  That’s over $55.00 per hour!  This beats bake sales, car washes and bottle drives as fundraisers.  If a volunteer works one shift per month for a year, that volunteer alone brings $3,756 to the program.  There is no tax or overhead that needs to be deducted; every penny gets spent on our children’s music education.

2. Supporting your child’s music education supports his/her education in every subject. Study after study show that students who study music have higher SAT scores and less substance abuse and behavior problems than other students.  Benefits of music education include better math abilities, higher self esteem and thinking skills, incredibly good organizational skills and spatial reasoning IQ. (check out www.menc.org)

3. Trombones and guitars and drums, oh, my!  Clavinovas, clarinets, Flugel horns, stage drums, drum lines, bass guitar, tenor saxes, tympanis, and an upright bass are some of the instruments that the Music Booster gave to the school system in the last two years.  These instruments will be used year after year.

4. You will demonstrate a great work ethic and community service to your children.

5. We work as a team.  If you have a question, there will be at least seven other volunteers working to help you out.  As you gain experience, it feels good to help other volunteers.  You will not feel alone or on the spot.

6. Your commitment level is at your comfort level.  If you can volunteer a 5 ½ hour shift per month, GREAT.  If you would like to work a ½ night shift or once every 2 or 3 months, we can still put your time to excellent use.

7. You will earn scholarship money for your child(ren).  Senior scholarships can be as high as $1,000.00.  Working Bingo earns points toward a higher scholarship award.  For details check out www.southportlandmusicboosters.org/scholarships.

8. The John Roberts Bingo hall is now smoke-free. 

9. The  Music Boosters will feed you.  The café carries Philly Steak sandwiches, clamcakes, fried shrimp, and burgers.  Yummy.  Drinks are free, too.

10. Bingo is a fun social activity.  Visiting with other parents and our patrons makes the time speed by.  You deserve a night out full of conversation, action and adventure.

To discuss volunteering, Please contact Theresa Libby at 874-7441 or email at theresa@maine.rr.com.