Patrick McGuire Makes Progress with Arusha Arts Initiative

We recently posted about 18-year-old cellist and From the Top alum Patrick McGuire and his arts outreach trip to Arusha, Tanzania. Since then, his group has made some great progress towards their goal with a grant from Julliard. Patrick sent us the following update:

Hi everyone!

It’s been awhile since we sent a Facebook update, so here’s the most recent news:

1) We were awarded the $5,000 that we applied for from the Juilliard Summer Grants Program! This is AWESOME news and we are all so excited about it!!

2) This brings our total up to $11,025! Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed so far! However, that still leaves us with $3,975 to go! PLEASE, if you are able, any amount that you can contribute will go a long way! Even $5 or $10 adds up!

3) WE ARE LEAVING IN THREE WEEKS! May 15th is the day!

4) Be sure to check out our new “Umoja Student Profiles” on our blog! They will be posted every three days until we leave, and include information about individual students at Umoja, such as their age, tribe, favorite food, favorite hobbies, and their experience at Umoja! Check out our first student profile: Debora!

-Everyone from AAI

To learn more about the Arusha Arts Initiative or contribute to the cause, visit Patrick’s blog at arushaartsinitiative.wordpress.com.