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Description nonprofit based in Carrboro, North Carolina. W e provide free, one-on-one <br />music lessons, instruments, and mentoring to over 200 children across <br />North Carolina who would not otherwise be able to afford private music <br />lessons. Children enrolled in the program are paired with college students <br />who volunteer to teach them weekly. Music is a common thread that unites <br />us all and knows no boundaries or borders. It is a language that all cultures <br />share, and it manages to transcend cultural conflict. Music builds self- <br />confidence and self-value, and ME creates a space in which people from <br />diverse backgrounds can help and learn from each other. <br />Musical Empowerment aims to serve local under-served youth in terms of <br />opportunities, while allowing college students to give back to the community <br />in a personal and engaging way. The one-to-one mentoring relationships <br />our students and teachers develop through music are mutually beneficial. <br />Kids learn how to play an instrument, read music, and perform, through <br />which they learn the value of becoming a contributing member of their local <br />community and develop discipline, responsibility, patience and confidence. <br />College student teachers learn how to develop and follow a curriculum for <br />effective music lessons, how to communicate with children and parents, <br />how to be encouraging and supportive mentors, how to actively enable <br />their students to succeed, and the importance of volunteering in the local <br />community. Musical Empowerment is mutual empowerment. <br />ME is administered by two paid staff members, an Executive Director and <br />Development Coordinator, headquartered at Youth W orx on Main in <br />Carrboro, North Carolina. The staff oversees the vision and growth of the <br />organization, supports and guides chapter leaders, establishes policies and <br />procedures to ensure safe and effective implementation of the programs, <br />evaluates programs effectiveness, develops trainings, resources and <br />curriculum for ME teachers, seeks new chapters and opportunities for <br />growth, and fundraises for the organization. Further, our National Board of <br />Directors and Board of Advisors, including professional private music <br />teachers, and business people, offer guidance to the Executive Director <br />and Development Coordinator. <br />Each chapter at UNC-CH, NC State, W ake Forest University, East <br />Carolina University, and North Carolina Central University is led by a core <br />leadership team of undergraduate student volunteers who run the day-to- <br />day operations of ME. The student leaders receive support and mentoring <br />from ME staff. The chapter boards consist of university faculty, <br />professional music teachers, parents of children taking Musical <br />Empowerment lessons, and other community members. They act as <br />liaisons to the local community and advisors to the team of <br />undergraduates. <br />W e currently serve 150 Chapel Hill-Carrboro K-12 children, and each has <br />one mentor. A few mentors have more than one student, but our music <br />lessons are always a one-to-one ratio. 82% of our students are from low- <br />income families and/or qualify for free-and-reduced lunch. Our student <br />demographics are: African American - 16%, Asian American - 7%, <br />Caucasian - 13%, Hispanic/Latino - 39%, Multiracial - 4%. The remaining <br />21% chose not to identify. <br />Docusign Envelope ID: 59E2ECCA-0E2A-4C34-94C1-200D77851766