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Please click Here To Support Us! We are the Eustis Middle School Mustang Band. We are writing to you today in regards to the band program here in Eustis Florida. The Eustis Middle School Mustang Band is a program that is completely self funded. Many school districts across the country are facing financial hardship. School boards are faced with difficult decisions of what programs to cut and how to stretch the tax dollars to accommodate tight budgets. Increasing class sizes, pay cuts, and less working days take a toll on teacher salaries as they receive more pressure to improve students' performance. Among the programs hit hardest by budgetary cuts are those that are related to music education.

The Eustis Band Pogram is under the director Mr. Ricke, with his 33 years experience which 19 are here at this middle school. It is continuing to grow and has been highly successful over the last decade in local, state, and national competitions and festivals. This band is increasingly being invited to perform at these and a variety of other types of events. Every successful band program needs money. The more successful, the more money needed for continued success.

We know that students of music bring creativity to product design and marketing:
Study of music helps students to think and work across traditional disciplines. They learn to integrate knowledge and to “think outside the box.”
A music education teaches students how to work together.
A music education builds an understanding of diversity and the multi-cultural dimensions of our work.
A music education contributes to areas that are important to the future of all Floridians.
Consequently in a global world, studying music is participating in a global behavior conducted through universally accepted practices.
And what musicians lack in business experience, they make up for in creativity.
Math and science are the big talking and testing points in education these days, but human resource experts believe to truly succeed in today’s global economy, tomorrow’s workers benefit most from studying and participating in the arts.

In order to participate in a band program the children are required to purchase an instrument, buy a uniform, provide many entry fees, paying accompanists, and paying transportation and other expenses for trips and the parents bear the burden of most of that cost for.

We also have many underprivileged children here that require donated instruments and partial or full financial help on entry fees to such events as State competitions and the big parade at Universal Studios at the end of the year. The award award winning, first place Steel Drum program is almost completely paid out of the band's raised monies.

The Eustis Middle School Mustang Band appreciates the opportunity for a grant such as this. We are a small town school with big city aspirations. The cost for even operating the band is about $15,000 and we work hard to raise that each year. A grant from State Farm would the foundation for the new MCSC program improvements. Helping us reach out to many local children. Showing them that with hard work they could achieve such dreams and at the same time learning is easier and more fun. 

Like Us with this community grant effort here https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=375765809196131&set=o.193932800618843&type=1&theater