Bakerview Music Academy Receives Smart and Caring Community Grant to Help with the Cost of Hiring a Special Education Assistant

In 2013, ACF decided to take on the Governor General’s challenge to help build a “smart and caring nation” as Canada approached its 150th birthday by committing to support programs that help children & families at risk in our community. We renamed our community granting endowment fund to the Smart & Caring Community Endowment Fund and, in 2016, launched our Smart & Caring Golf Classic to help grow the fund’s capital. Using the money from this fund, we offer annual Smart and Caring Community Grants that support local charities that work with at-risk children and families in our community.
This year, Bakerview Music Academy (BMA) was one of the well-deserving recipients of a Smart and Caring Community Grant. They received funding to assist with the cost of hiring a special needs education assistant with experience supporting special needs children and those with learning or behavioral challenges.
BMA is an El Sistema-based program offering free music lessons for children in Abbotsford. The goal of BMA is to inspire local youth to achieve their full potential and positively impact their lives and society as a whole. The program empowers youth while developing talented musicians who get to experience the joy of performing. Currently, students learn musicianship, percussion, choir, violin, viola and cello.
Heidi Epp, BMA’s Program Director, notes that “support from the Abbotsford Community Foundation to hire a part-time Special Education Assistant is critical”. She says it can be “challenging to secure funding for professional teaching fees and staff because many granting foundations will not provide funds for those purposes”.
Here at ACF, we are happy to be able to support local charities like BMA, thanks to our generous donors. We truly Give Where We Live!
Learn more about our Smart and Caring Community Grant program by clicking here.
Learn more about Bakerview Music Academy and their current job postings by clicking here.