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' THURSDAY. ocronen s. we - wArleoo cummcur . 7 Guitar giveaway effort stri ki rig a chord wi th local ki ds ' BY Btu hereon to get a guitar of their own, so they own some- "We didn't have money donated at first sold to purchase more. For the Chronicle thing that‘s theirs,‘ Egan said. and money came from own pockets." Egan said 100 Guitars for 100 Kids is simiâ€" - ‘V What comes from learning a musical What helped was recently finding a whole- Iar to a program in Cambridge called Guitars 0b Egan is looking for a lawyer. The for- instrument? saler with pallets of guitars that were returned for Kids that's administered by idea Exchange mer Blue Rodeo pedal steel guitar play- 'A sense of mastery, a sense of identity, a by retailers due to damage. and Cambridge Live Music. er turned library outreach manager isn't sense of creativity, exploration,“ Egan replied. "We bought them for 30 cents on the dol~ “We repaired their first 70 guitars, but it's in any trouble. life is strumming right along. “It's a platform for collaboration and for lar,” Egan said. “Each of these guitars needed fairly autonomous now and they're doing A program he started called 100 Guitars for belonging. It just works on so many levels," anywhere from $100 to 5200 work on them, great things.’ he said. 100 Kids is going gangbusters, he said. so i was able to recruit a couple high school "They’re now a registered notâ€"for-profit , 'lt's just a name meant to be memora- “You have to start with the scientific fact students and a couple tech employees from and are getting grants for education. ble and catchy,’ he said. “But this year we've that there is no other activity that's as benefi- Christie Digital to volunteer their time and “Once we have that status we can apply for given out 150 of them." cial for cognitive and social development than repair them.” grants, and then i think we're going to be in Egan is looking for ways to formalize the playing music and playing music with others.’ There are just a few guitars left to go good shape,” effort, and he's calling all lawyers, Earlier in September. Centre in the Square out this year, Egan said the program has Anyone wishing to learn more about the “Going forward our priority is to incor~ helped coordinate a guitar giveaway to six recently benefitted from a charitable golf program or make a contribution, can visit porate into a nonprofit, and we've put the local youth as part of its community access tournament as well as a donation of an the Facebook page or send Egan an email to word out on Twitter and Facebook that we're program that provides kids the opportunity to instrument valued at $5,000, which will be bobObobsguitarservice.com. looking for a lawyer to help us on a pro-bond take in a show. basis, So all you lawyers out there, c'mon,’ he "We donated six brand new guitars for the laughed. group, provided a meal and tickets to Rodriâ€" ‘ The program, which started in pannership guez (the subject of the Oscar-winning docu- with the School of Rock and Virtual Causeway mentary Searching For Sugarman), which was is an extension of the charitable work Egan's sold out,” said Will Muir, the centre’s commu- done for the past six years at his downtown nications coordinator. shop. Bob‘s Guitars, whereby old instruments “It was great to see a group get instru- re 8 n I n are rebuilt and given to kids who aren't able to merits. take in a great concert and watch their afford one. eyes light up.' - “Our distribution model is that we engage A musician himself, Muir said it's a spring- a different social service agency every month, board for the kids involved. “You start learn- u r O n I | l u n I y whether it's Extend-a-Family, YWCA. Luther- ing an instrument, but then you start learning wood, Ray of Hope or oneROOF,’ Egan said. history. a little bit of geography, and it spirals The agencies are asked to identify kids who out from there.“ can benefit from a free instrument and usu~ Cultivating that creativity is dependent on ally get whatever they need â€" often a hall" help from the community, and any little bit ' dozen to a dozen guitars. helps, Muir said. ‘ , ‘Some have kept a few in house as part of “Our mutual love is around community j a lending library, but our goal is for the kids building and giving back.” Egan said. 3 . , - . , , 5 x 0 r s. 7 l k l ‘ “if » , lt"'lP'.l‘l .rl rtr'rar e ' ;' .' .~ ' ' - ' ~ I . . , Q . r . “w . g Since 2012. the UW envrronmental in 2016, two planting events hosted 2g}, a“ gig“, 1,1“: ' l reserverestorationprojecthasseenthe byTDTreeDaysandtheLaurelCreek g . l: , ‘ , ’ planting of over 6,000 native trees and Citizens WorkingGrcupsawtheplanting -r' 1 ‘ ,» « » . “f ' shrubs within 12 acres of designated of 800 native trees and shrubs through ‘ a‘ 5" “g 2 t, ._ " _, buffer surrounding Westmoum Sports community volunteer efforts! 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