Philanthropy Today
Philanthropy Today
Manhattan Optimist Club on the GMCF Community Hour Show Episode - 211
The Manhattan Optimist Club is launching an instrument drive to collect gently used band and orchestra instruments for students whose families can't afford them. This initiative brings together the Optimist Club, K-State's instrument repair specialist, and local school music directors to ensure every child has the opportunity to participate in music education regardless of financial circumstances.
• Instrument collection runs June 2-7 at K-State Credit Union and Landmark Bank locations
• Clyde Scott has been with the Manhattan Optimist Club since 1969
• Gary Lloyd, a retired band director, initiated the instrument drive as a new member
• K-State music department's instrument repair specialist will refurbish donated instruments
• Research shows students who participate in music programs perform better academically
• Optimist International provided a $1,000 grant matched by the local club to fund repairs
• The Manhattan Optimist Club has a foundation for tax-exempt donations
• Instruments will be distributed through school music directors to students in need
• Community members can donate instruments or contribute financially through manhattanoptimist.com
To donate instruments or learn more about joining the Manhattan Optimist Club, visit manhattanoptimist.com or drop off instruments at any of our collection sites from June 2-7.
Philanthropy Today is brought to you by the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation. In this episode we feature a recently broadcast segment of the GMCF Community Hour as heard on NewsRadio KMAN. And we are back with the GMCF Community Hour here on NewsRadio KMAN, switching the schedule up a little bit here. Schedule up a little bit here. We have coming up in a little bit. Tara Clausen with the Konzer United Way will be joining us here in our next segment. But this particular segment we're going to be talking about a group that got a little bit of attention here at the CFAs and we have members from the Manhattan Optimist Club and gosh Clyde Scott. How long has it been since? I've known, you Known?
Speaker 2:you or been an optimist.
Speaker 1:No, it's been a while since I've been an optimist.
Speaker 2:Both ways. I joined the Optimist in 1969.
Speaker 1:1969. That is, that's 56 years. Exactly Were you seven. I'm being kind.
Speaker 2:I wish I'm being way, way kind aren't.
Speaker 1:I Right yeah, oh goodness, but boy, he's man. Has anybody been in the club longer than you?
Speaker 2:Dr Klingler and I joined the same year. Gene unfortunately isn't as active anymore, but he's still in the club and we've seen a lot of changes in Manhattan and in the Optimist Club over the years. Well good.
Speaker 1:Well, we're glad to have you in here. Thank you, and we have Gary Lloyd, right.
Speaker 3:Did I get that right?
Speaker 1:Yes, it's the first time we met.
Speaker 3:Yes, how long have you been an Optimist? Well, my wife and I moved to Manhattan three years ago, almost to the day. You're a newbie, yeah, I am, and so I am new to the Optimist Club and I'm a retired band director from.
Speaker 1:Colorado. Are you? What brought you to Manhattan, Kansas?
Speaker 3:My son's family.
Speaker 1:I can imagine that that was about to ask. So you were a band director. Do you have a specialty when it comes to music?
Speaker 3:that you like. My primary instrument is trumpet and I play and perform here in Manhattan with the Thundering Cats jazz band.
Speaker 1:Ah, just saw them at the Habitat for Humanity event on Valentine's Day. Enjoyed that yeah.
Speaker 3:And I've enjoyed playing in the group Uh-huh.
Speaker 1:Well, great, had you been an optimist before you came to Manhattan.
Speaker 3:No, I had some friends that were back in Colorado where we came from, and so I was somewhat familiar. They would do some student recognitions in the school that I taught in, and so I had some familiarity with the Optimist Club in that respect, but I was not a member.
Speaker 1:You know, sometimes when you're a teacher, your schedule just does not allow for a lot of those types of things, and you are working with youth already, so you get the theme of the Optimist.
Speaker 3:Band directors are very busy people.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So what's your role with Optimist right now? Gary?
Speaker 3:Well, right now just trying to contribute any way I can to the Optimist Youth Programs and helping out at Optimist Park, and our president, who is Greg McCune.
Speaker 3:He approached me about new project ideas.
Speaker 3:Being that I was a musician, he was looking for something in the arts, and this is kind of how this idea of the instrument drive got started, in conversations with Greg and a couple other members, that a new project of this type, an instrument drive, new project of this type, an instrument drive which would collect instruments and we would refurbish the instruments and then we would provide them to the schools, um to put in the hands of students whose families couldn't afford to either buy or rent an instrument.
Speaker 3:Love this idea, and my experience as a band director back in Colorado was one that I taught in a school where I had a lot of families that could not afford instruments, and so I spent a lot of time and a lot of footwork trying to find instruments that I could put into kids' hands and so that they could participate in my program, and so I've had a little experience with this in that respect, and so we're just looking for the greater Manhattan community to help support this instrument drive that we're going to have from June 2nd to June 7th and we have four drop-off sites the K-State Credit Union at each of its sites on Anderson and McCall, and then the Landmark Bank here on Points and also out on West Anderson have really kindly jumped to the call to be drop off sites for instrument donations, do you?
Speaker 1:have a particular type of instrument that you're looking for. I mean, are you?
Speaker 3:I mean primarily, primarily band and orchestra instruments. You know that have been gently used, so stringed instruments are good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, I picked up a violin the other day and we'll, and it's in pretty good shape, and so our, our task will be, you know, once we collect instruments, is to go over them and and I have a few friends, retired band director as well that's going to help me do a little instrument triage as we go through the instruments and determine, you know, what's going to be practicable, affordable to fix and to refurbish, repair any instruments. And we have this is the neat part of this project we have the um, kansas state music department instrument repairman. Uh, who's going to help us repair the instruments. Oh, how cool and he's a great guy and and he's excited about the project and he has a couple of interns that are going to help him as well.
Speaker 1:And you've got an educational process lined up on all sides of this and get experience repairing instruments.
Speaker 3:He has a couple of students that will benefit from this. Did you expect something like that to pop in? You know, it's amazing how the pieces just kind of all fell together from a concept, an idea, and then just knowing a few people in the area who could connect me, you know, with other people, you know who'd be interested in this project.
Speaker 1:So correct me if I'm wrong, but most of the students that start getting into the instruments start what? Fifth grade?
Speaker 3:I believe it varies probably from. You know different rural schools in the area but I believe in the Manhattan 383 school district they would start in sixth grade and middle school in both band and orchestra instrument classes and then they progress, you know, from middle school through the high school.
Speaker 1:What's the process going to be like for a kid and his family, his parents, to make arrangements for one of these instruments?
Speaker 3:Well, I'm working with Joel Gittle.
Speaker 1:Manhattan.
Speaker 3:High School band director and once we have a batch of instruments that are ready to go, I'll let him know that, joel, here's what we have and can you help us, you know, in within his context with the teachers that work with him in the school district. Can you find a home for these or find out what families you know could use an instrument and it's going to be, you know, utilizing the middle school directors you know that would identify those families that could use an instrument, you know, and get their kid involved in the program.
Speaker 1:Are some of these requests going to be based and to fulfill these requests, will they be built on somewhat financial needs of the families or is there any qualification process?
Speaker 3:Have, really don't have any. You just want the kids to play. We just, we just want them to get involved, to have that opportunity to to participate in a music program.
Speaker 1:I love this idea.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I'm a big fan of music, big fan of getting kids the in on the arts, whatever that art may be, and I think the you know, most people know at least I would like to think that most people know that music is an accelerator success to success in school.
Speaker 3:Right as yeah, and the research shows that students that get involved with learning to play an instrument do better in school throughout. You know the, just the, the pathways, the new pathways that are created between the left and the right brain, and just the the kinesthetic work that's involved. You know there's there's so many multiple levels involved in so much brain work involved in learning to play an instrument and reading music that that, um, the research has shown that that students that participate in in a music program do better in school.
Speaker 1:Now it's going to cost some money to repair these instruments. Yes, what's your resource situation?
Speaker 3:Well, we just received a grant from Optimist International for $1,000. And the club local Manhattan Optimist Club has pledged to match that grant. So we have a start here. We have a fund that will kickstart this program, since it is a brand new program, but we're open to any other donations that we could receive and people could reach out to us through our website, optimist manhattanoptimistcom. They can reach out to us and there's a donation link on the Optimist website and we would welcome. Even if you don't have an instrument to donate, we would welcome those types of donations to help pay for more repairs.
Speaker 1:Gary, this is amazing. Thanks for sharing the story. And, Clyde, this is just really obviously another aspect of Optimist working with kids, and Optimist here locally have been known for maybe what t-ball, baseball, softball and those types of things, but this is a whole new addition for you. I just think this is amazing.
Speaker 2:Well, Gary is a prime example of how we get into programs. Somebody becomes a member, has an idea, presents it to the board and we run with it, presents it to the board and we run with it. This program reminds me of one we did years ago when Ben hadn't put in an ice skating rink. We did the same thing, collecting old ice skates. They would bring them in to me and I'd get them to the repair shop if they needed repair and we'd tune them up and get them to the rink, Because you're an old shoe guy, aren't you? Yeah, I am. Okay, you're an old shoe guy, aren't you? Yeah, I am. Can I say you're a shoe guy?
Speaker 1:Yeah, Brown shoe fit.
Speaker 2:Brown shoe fit For forever yeah that's when I came to town 69. But we also on the financial end of it. Our club is set up with a foundation so that it is tax exempt money. If people wanted to donate they can officially get a tax receipt if that means anything to them. Excuse me, what Gary was talking about? The location spots. I took it on my own to present this program at the Senior Center last week and they were receptive to it and I told the lady down there if anybody wanted to bring them in to her she could call me and I'll pick them up. So that's another place they can drop them off if that's more convenient or whatever.
Speaker 1:We have just a couple minutes left before we need to move on to to Tara's interview, but but let's talk a little bit about Optimus. You know your friend of youth, that's your, that's your slogan, you have your creed and and it is just it's. It's a wonderful testament to living your life, making improvements, making impact on on young people and everybody. I do know that every civic club has challenges in this day and age with membership, and you're in the midst of a membership drive and I see it on social media. I see you guys pop up. I don't know if that's targeted advertising toward me or not, but it sure seems like it. But you are utilizing social media a lot in order to recruit new members and you know this effort here that Gary's been talking about, that's going to be one that I think really entices a lot of people to say, hey, I like what they're doing and I want to be a part of it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, people need to look into the Optimist Club in ways that they can give back to their community and so many times I'll ask somebody younger age about Optimist and they don't even know we exist. But it is very good to do a lot of things for children and like the cost thing with these instruments. Is very good to do a lot of things for children and like the cost thing and with these instruments. If a family can't afford an instrument but the child maybe wants to get into something, this is a way that they can try it out without any expense for an instrument and hopefully we'll get a wide range of them and they'll have a selection to choose from.
Speaker 1:ManhattanOptimistcom is the website and you have a place on the site where you can donate. Yes, we sure do, and there's all kinds of membership information on there as well.
Speaker 3:Membership information on the website as well.
Speaker 1:Gary Lloyd, you're making a heck of an impact in your third year as an optimist in Manhattan. That's awesome. Thank you for sharing the story about your effort here to get instruments in kids' hands here within the schools. That's a great story, clyde Scott. Always good to see you. Sir, thank you, continued good work in the community and congratulations once again on your CFA award for your organization receiving that very well deserved, very proud of you.
Speaker 2:There's a lot of things happening in Manhattan that started with an optimist club.
Speaker 1:That's true. That's true. Tara Clausen is going to be stepping in. Next. She'll be joining us via Zoom to talk about Community Investment Day and more here on the GMCF Community Hour. Here on News.