A concert to benefit the Achieve Foundation held at The Woodland on June 19, raised $10,000 to support budding musicians in the South Orange-Maplewood School District, according to Vanessa Pollock.
Pollock and her Keller Williams Midtown Direct Realty Team hosted the event that featured Broadway performers Charlie Pollock (Broadway’s Violet, 9 to 5, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Urinetown — and, yes, he’s also husband to Vanessa), Stephanie J. Block (Tony Nominee for Mystery of Edwin Drood, Wicked, 9 to 5) and Becky Gulsvig (Hairspray, Legally Blonde).
Proceeds from this, the Pollocks’ second semi-annual event, will go the Achieve Foundation’s Vanessa Pollock Music Initiative. The fund was established in January to promote music education in the South Orange-Maplewood School District by supplementing funding for approved Teacher Grants, helping to maintain the district’s inventory of instruments, underwriting rental fees for students in-need and supporting private instruction for exceptional music students who have financial need.
The first concert in December brought in more than $6,000, which has already paid for 145 rental fees, repairs to a number of instruments and two Achieve Teacher Grant projects that will benefit more than 300 students each year: World Drumming and the CHS Guitar Club.
Supervisor of Fine and Performing Arts Mara Rubin said the funds are coming at a time when district funding for the arts is limited. “This extra money helps us to expand and enrich music education for so many students,” said Rubin. “We’ve always managed to find ways to cover basic costs for students in need, but the Pollocks are enabling us to be even more effective and to expand our offerings for all students.”
To find out more about the Achieve Foundation of South Orange and Maplewood, visit achievefoundation.org. To donate, click here.
Click on any image below to see a slideshow of photos from the June concert.
