Recently, Drew’s Tunes had the privilege of donating new instruments to the Salmen High School Marching Band in Slidell. This band is incredibly talented and was very much in need of instruments.
One of the parents, Teresa Stevenson, reached out and shared this information about the band,
“The goal of our music program is to provide an opportunity for each student of the Salmen High School Band to play their instrument of choice regardless of the student's financial means to obtain an instrument. 70% of Salmen's student body is disadvantaged financially so most students cannot provide their own instrument. After Hurricane Katrina, providing instruments for our students became a difficult task. Salmen's insurance did not cover the cost of its lost instruments when the high school was completely destroyed by wind and water in August 2005. As a result, the director has obtained instruments from other schools who no longer want them and repaired them for use by the band . Most of our instruments have dents and scratches, but other are so defective that the sound of the instrument is impaired. However, no student is ever turned away from the band. The band provides students with a sense of purpose, opportunities for leadership, and a family atmosphere which many children would not experience in any other way.”
Thanks to your support Drew’s Tunes was able to donate two sousaphones, a trumpet and a trombone. These beautiful instruments cost thousands of dollars and would have been out of reach without our foundation’s donation. This year Congressman Steve Scalise's office nominated Salmen to represent Louisiana in the 2019 National Independence Parade in Washington, D.C. We are so excited to help Salmen march in style this July.