The Sunnyvale Sun

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Auto dealers' donation buys instruments

By JASON GOLDMAN-HALL

A far cry from Kurt Cobain or Pete Townshend smashing their guitars triumphantly at the end of a show, the Fremont High School bands have been trying to make do, forcing some students to share instruments that they should be taking home each night to use for practice.

Thanks to the Northern California branch of the UnitedAuto Group, the 120 band members at Fremont will soon have some new instruments, including some that are not even featured in the current band.

As part of the UnitedAuto For Kids donation program, $120 from every car purchased from UnitedAuto dealers--including Sunnyvale Acura--are set aside for the California school of the buyer's choice.

As that money accumulates, those schools can apply to have that money given to specific student groups on campus.

"We don't want to buy a new desk for the principal of a school, but we'll buy new desks, or in this case musical instruments, for students," said Bob Kinney, head of human relations for UnitedAuto Group, Northern California branch.

For Fremont, the end result is $15,000, which will turn into a concert tuba, a new vibrophone, a bassoon and other instruments.

Instrumental music director Joseph Kelly heard about the program from Fremont principal Peggy Raun-Linde, who suggested he apply for the money. She knew Kelly had a wish list of musical instruments he didn't have the funding to buy.

"I was blown away. Their generosity is very much appreciated," Kelly said. "For us, it allows us to hit on that list much sooner than we expected."

Kelly said he has four tuba players sharing two tubas, which means they need to coordinate their practice times and check out the instruments if they want to take them home. The band's only bassoon was privately owned by its player. It went with her when she graduated this year.

"The program is growing, and these are instruments that students don't typically own and instruments that need to be in the band," he said.

The money will also help Kelly prepare for the continued growth of the music program. This year, he said 34 seniors graduated from the band, but there are already 60 incoming freshmen waiting to take their places.

The donation was presented to the band during its annual spring concert June 1.

In one year, Kinney said UnitedAuto has given more than $144,000 to 20 schools. He said the program started out of a mutual interest in helping the residents of their communities and finding a positive way to market their products.

By offering an incentive such as helping schools, Kinney said the dealerships attract more business, because most of their clients are families already.

"It's not a secret that California schools have taken quite a hit lately," he said.

For more on the program, visit www.unitedautoforkids.com.