Valley Independent Percussion

Why Music?

With the ever growing possibility of our children falling into crime, gang related activities and poverty, our youth are fighting to create something positive in their life.

Music is an amazing form of expression for people of all ages. It provides emotional, physical and mental connections to the world. The youth from our communities have found the opportunity to learn, practice and perform music that is unique and challenging, providing a positive outlet for their creativity and talent.

You can support our work to inspire, encourage and foster the creativity and drive that these members need to make their positive mark on the world.

Why the Central Valley of California?

Seeing the activity of indoor drum lines grow at a fantastic rate over the years inspired us to begin this activity in the Central Valley of California. We saw that there were no groups beyond what students would be able to participate in while in high school. What happens when they graduate? This was the question on our minds when we attended one of the local high school shows. The talent of these young players was being capped by their senior year.

We started up Valley Independent Percussion in 2009 (moving from it's original location in Bakersfield, CA started in 2004) and had an amazing response from not only our immediate communities but also from members throughout the state of California. Our group has more than doubled the number of members enrolled over the past five years and continues to grow still. The range in age has also increased, encouraging us to begin a junior group to better serve our communities. 

What has VIP done so far?

In April, our members spent a week competing against the best groups in the world. After traveling to Dayton, Ohio, our members practiced day and night for a two day finals competition.

The highlight of the competition was when the students made history for our organization and brought home the bronze medal in World Championships from the elite international circuit, Winter Guard International, known as WGI (www.wgi.org).

In October, our 2014-15 season began with a startling amount of young musicians looking to audition. Currently, we look forward to a group of 48 members, our largest group ever!

How will we use these donations?

Our goal is to raise enough money to fund the non-profit to compete in it's 13th season in existence. Currently, VIP owns only six of the instruments used to serve our 48 members. Every other instrument used is borrowed from local middle schools and high schools. Unfortunately, these arrangements cannot continue to provide for our group. We have the costs of purchasing all new instruments to the 2016-17 VIP Organization with 48 youths over one session (October through April), as well as the costs of running the full competitive, expanding the program and doing outreach for the next 12 months. Some of the expenses include:

• Marimbas
• Vibraphones
• Xylophones
• Glockenspiel (concert bells)
• Snare Drums
• Tenor Drums
• Bass Drums
• Drum stands and carriers
• Concert Toms & Bass Drums
• Cymbals & Gongs
• Drumsets
• Speakers & PA System
• Microphones & Cables
• Sticks & Mallets
• Drum heads

Other Ways You Can Help

First and foremost, we welcome your dollars! There are quite a bit of costs associated with providing a sustaining a long-term venture like this. We plan to expand to younger musical youth and reach out further in California and across the nation.

Second, we'd love your help getting the word out about Music for Youth—both this fundraiser and the project in general. We can't be everywhere and we don't know everyone who'll want to be involved—yet, anyway—so we really need your help. Sharing on Facebook, Twitter, G+ or your favorite online or real-life networks of choice increases our chances of getting the instrumentation we need and continuing to grow in the Central Valley of California!

Our thanks...

... to you for supporting our campaign and spreading the word:

Our volunteers have generously given of their weekends month after month to help our youth. 

We are so happy to have the opportunity to work with all of you and see your expertise come to life!