MusiCounts Donates $1 Million in Instruments to 95 Schools, TikTok Pledges To Help

By Mason Bugaresti 5/6/21 | www.samaritanmag.com

Canadian music education charity MusiCounts, an arm of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences which produces the Juno Awards, have committing to donating over $1 million worth of instruments, equipment, and resources to 95 schools across Canada through the MusiCounts Band Aid Program.

MusiCounts also announced a partnership with TikTok Canada, which has committed to donating a portion of funds to buy instruments for high schools across the country.

The announcement was made by Max Kerman of The Arkells on MusiCount’s TikTok account.

MusiCounts Band Aid Program aims to provide “under-resourced schools with grants of up to $15,000 worth of musical instruments, equipment, and resources,” according to their website.

Executive director of MusiCounts Kristy Fletcher said in a press statement that “by collaborating with TikTok Canada, who are supporting secondary schools through the MusiCounts Band Aid Program and the Kanata resource, we’re committing to evolving with music, technology, and young voices across the country.”

Also highlighted in the news release was TikTok’s commitment to supporting MusiCount’s program Kanata: Contemporary Indigenous Artists and Their Music. Kanata is a music curriculum that focuses on language revitalization, cultural identity and expression, social justice, and environmental justice. Kanata is a “free resource for any educator who wishes to bring contemporary Indigenous music into the classroom,” according to a MusiCounts press release. Integrating TikTok into Kanata music curriculum means that students can engage with subject material in the popular video-sharing platform.

“We take great care to foster a safe and supportive environment where our community can express themselves authentically and creatively, and this means empowering diverse voices,” said TikTok Canada’s head of music Adam Burchill in a press release. “Through the MusiCounts Learn Kanata resources and the MusiCounts Band Aid program, we’re providing high school students with the education, tools, and resources needed to help foster their creative expression, and amplifying the rich cultural history of Indigenous art and voices in Canada.”

Of the $1 million committed to the MusiCounts Band Aid Program, $173,000 will be donated to 16 schools in the territories, and $218,000 will be donated to 18 schools in Atlantic Canada. Recipients of the 2021 grant will be putting funds towards recording studios and drum-making workshops led by Indigenous Elders, and many other programs and activities.

The full list of schools receiving the 2021 Band Aid grant is below:

ALBERTA         

  • Bishop Lloyd Middle School - Lloydminster
  • Chief Big Belly Middle School - Tsuut'ina
  • Gleneadows School - Calgary
  • Ivor Dent - Edmonton
  • Kitscoty High School - Kitscoty
  • Reed Ranch - Torrington
  • St. Theresa School - Wabasca
  • Warburg School - Warburg

BRITISH COLUMBIA   

  • Christina Lake Elementary School - Christina Lake
  • Fort Rupert Elementary School - Port Hardy
  • Hazelton Secondary School - Hazelton
  • John Norquay Elementary School - Vancouver
  • Kwantlen Park Secondary - Surrey
  • Kyuquot Elementary Secondary School - Kyuquot
  • Nusdeh Yoh Elementary - Prince George
  • Prince Charles Elementary School - Surrey
  • Shas Ti Kelly Road Secondary School - Prince George
  • Uplands Park Elementary - Nanaimo
  • Vermilion Forks Elementary - Princeton
  • Westwood Elementary School - Prince George

MANITOBA     

  • Gillam School - Gillam
  • Green Acres Colony School - Wawanesa
  • Nisichawayasihk Neyo Ohtinwak Collegiate - Nelson House
  • Joe A. Ross School - Opaskwaya

NEW BRUNSWICK      

  • Dorchester Consolidated School - Dorchester
  • École communautaire Soeur-Saint-Alexandre - Lamèque
  • École Notre-Dame - Edmundston
  • Edith Cavell School - Moncton
  • Harcourt School - Harcourt
  • Hazen-White St. Francis School - Saint John

NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR

  • Forest Park Primary - Grand Falls-Windsor
  • Holy Trinity High School - Torbay
  • J. M. Olds Collegiate - Twillingate
  • J.R. Smallwood Middle School - Wabush
  • St. Peter's Junior High - Mount Pearl

NOVA SCOTIA

  • Admiral Westphal Elementary School - Dartmouth
  • Digby Elementary School - Digby
  • Jubilee Elementary - Sydney Mines
  • New Germany Rural High School - New Germany
  • Northumberland Regional High School - Westville
  • Springhill Elementary School - Springhill
  • Tamarac Education Center - Port Hawkesbury
  • Tatamagouche Regional Academy - Tatamagouche
  • Trenton Elementary School - Trenton

NORTHWEST TERRITORIES

  • Charles Yohin School - Nahanni Butte
  • Deh Gah School - Fort Providence
  • Echo Dene School - Fort Liard
  • École Boréale - Hay River
  • Mildred Hall School - Yellowknife
  • Range Lake North - Yellowknife

NUNAVUT      

  • Inuksuk High School - Iqaluit
  • Inuujaq School - Arctic Bay
  • Jimmy Hikok Ilihakvik - Kugluktuk
  • Maani Ulujuk Ilinniarvik High School - Rankin Inlet
  • Nanook School - Iqaluit
  • Qaqqalik School - Kimmirut
  • Sivuniit Middle School - Igloolik
  • Tuugaalik High School - Naujaat

ONTARIO        

  • AR Kaufman Public School - Kitchener
  • Bernie Custis Secondary School - Hamilton
  • Darcel Senior Public School - Mississauga
  • David Suzuki Secondary School - Brampton
  • Derrydown Public School - North York
  • Eagle Heights PS - London
  • École élémentaire Jean-Paul II - Val Caron
  • Eenchokay Birchstick School - Pikangikum
  • Glen Williams Public School - Glen Williams
  • Grand Valley & District Public School - Grand Valley
  • Highview Public School - Aurora
  • James Cardinal McGuigan - Toronto
  • Mackenzie Glen P.S. - Vaughan
  • North Shore Public School - Keene
  • Ray Lawson Public School - Brampton
  • St. Michael Catholic Elementary School - Niagara on the Lake
  • St. Benedict Catholic School - Rexdale
  • Tredway Woodsworth Public School - Toronto
  • Willow Park Junior Public School - Toronto
  • Woburn Junior P.S. - Scarborough
  • Moosonee Public School* - Moosonee

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND       

  • Gulf Shore Consolidated School - North Rustico

QUÉBEC          

  • École Belle-Vallée - Maskinongé
  • École de l'Épervière - Ste-Thérèse - Saint-Agapit
  • Jaanimmarik School - Kuujjuaq
  • École secondaire Louis-Joseph-Papineau - Papineauville
  • École Notre-Dame-de-Fatima - Landrienne
  • Sautjuit School - Kangirsuk

SASKATCHEWAN        

  • Almightyvoice Education Centre - Bellevue
  • Chief Mistawasis School - Leask
  • Dr. Brass School - Yorkton
  • Keethanow Elementary - Stanley Mission
  • Muskoday First Nation Community School - Muskoday
  • Princess Alexandra Community School - Saskatoon

YUKON            

  • Selkirk Elementary School - Whitehorse
  • Vanier Catholic Secondary School - Whitehorse

* Samaritanmag.com is an online magazine covering the good deeds of individuals, charities and businesses.