The Cultural Center at Ponte Vedra Beach announced that the Lazzara Family Foundation has established a $20,000 matching gift challenge in support of “Sound Connections,” a music therapy outreach program offered by the cultural center that benefits children with special needs. The program is currently offered at three Ponte Vedra elementary schools: Ocean Palms, Valley Ridge Academy and PVPV/Rawlings.
From now until Dec. 1, 2016, every contribution of $25 or over will be matched dollar for dollar up to $20,000. The goal is to raise $40,000 to sustain the outreach program for the 2016-2017 school year.
The cultural center's board certified music therapists, Minda Gordon and Candice Sirak, utilize music as an educational related service to promote learning and skill acquisition at selected public schools in St. Johns County. According to CCPVB, the practice of music therapy has shown a correlation between speech and singing, rhythm and motor behavior, memory for song and memory for academic material, and overall ability of preferred music to enhance mood, attention, and behavior to optimize the student's ability to learn and interact.
To contribute to the Sound Connections Matching Gift Challenge, visit www.ccpvb.org or call (904) 280-0614 ext. 203. All gifts to the matching gift challenge are tax deductible.
Visit www.ccpvb.org/programs/outreach-programs for more information on the CCPVB Music Therapy Outreach Program.
