About Us
During the month of March, music students across New York State are invited to take part in a Practice-A-Thon with all proceeds going to local food banks. The goal of the Harry Chapin Practice-A-Thon is to strengthen students’ practice habits while supporting New York State local food banks. Over the past six years, the Practice-A-Thon has raised $25-30,000 a year for Long Island Cares - The Harry Chapin Food Bank, the regional Food Bank for Long Island. The Harry Chapin Food Bank was founded in 1980 by the late singer Harry Chapin in response to the problems of hunger and poverty on Long Island.
As Helen Keller said, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much!”
Students who participate in the Practice-A-Thon will need to document their daily practice on the enclosed “calendar.” Sponsors will pledge an amount of their choice per minute the student practices during the month of March. Pledges can be anywhere from $.01 per minute and higher.
Each student will collect from sponsors in April and will mail their donations directly to their local food banks along with a Donation Form.
The Practice Log should be turned into their music teachers so the teachers can document their school's participation.
Teachers can use their creativity to help generate excitement about the project. Make the project fun with posters, competitions or small rewards. After teachers collect the pledge sheets, be sure to tally the totals and let the students know how their small contribution became part of a larger donation.
See our Resources tab for ideas to help promote the practice-a-thon in your school.
Please take a look at our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/practiceathon where you can ask questions and post your successes. Contact us at harrychapinpractice@gmail.com if you have any questions and thank you for your participation.
We would love to connect to other states as well, so if you would like to get involved from outside of NY, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.