When budget cuts this past spring threatened music programs throughout the Kent School District, music teacher Carol Brewster decided to do something about it.
To ensure that no matter what happened with the programs, low-income students at Kent Elementary and Scenic Hills Elementary would still have the chance to play music at school, Brewster decided to write an essay for DonorsChoose.org, an online charity that seeks to connect people with students in need.
Brewster said in an e-mail that she wrote a proposal for $12,000 in musical instruments, which totaled $14,772 after taxes, fees and shipping.
The request went live on March 30 and by Aug. 18 had received $2,000 in donations.
That’s when American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert got involved and the whole game changed.
On Aug. 20, Brewster said there was a “firestorm of activity” on the site and people were “donating on behalf of someone named Adam Lambert.”
After doing some research, she discovered the rising star had asked fans to support school music programs instead of sending him gifts and one if his fan clubs (the “Glittizens”) selected Brewster’s proposal.
Not only that, a contest began among Lambert fan clubs to see who could raise the most money.
In just eight days, Lambert’s fans had donated more than $12,000, fully funding the request. More than 200 people nationwide and one from Finland contributed.
As of this past week, Brewster said DonorsChoose is waiting to collect all of the funds, at which time they will buy the instruments, which will then be shipped to Kent Elementary.
Brewster said protocol for distributing the instruments, which must go to the schools in which she works (Kent, Scenic Hill, Springbrook, Sawyer Woods and Martin Sortun elementaries), is being developed with a focus on fifth-grade students on free and reduced lunch.
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