Janice Shearer is a marketing and fundraising specialist for a number of local charities including the Hamilton Music Collective which sponsors An Instrument For Every Child (AIFEC). That program was established out of concern for the erosion of music training in the schools and is supported by the Hamilton Community Foundation, a significant private donor and other local businesses and service clubs.
The objective is to provide quality music instruction to grade school students, especially grades 1 to 4. Children get to pick a musical instrument to play and the program then loans it to them. Fourteen schools in Hamilton have participated with over 9000 children. The program is modelled after one in Essen Germany started by Manfred Grunenberg.
The Hamilton Music Collective includes AIFEC in schools, AIFEC in the community, AIEFC String Ensemble, Jambassadors, Jam 101, AIEFC Orchestra, Beats By U, and Open Jam for Kids.
For more information visit the website http://www.hamiltonmusiccollective.ca.