At Hungry for Music, our mission is putting quality musical instruments into hungry hands. We serve children who demonstrate a desire to learn music, as well as teachers who have students willing to learn.

In 29 years, we’ve delivered more than 20,000 instruments to children in all 50 states and 32 countries.

We believe that by sharing instruments and musical experiences, children who would not otherwise have the opportunity can experience a kind of freedom and self-discovery that is often stifled in an atmosphere of economic hardship.

What We Do

We invite you to watch the video and see the transformative power of the gift of a musical instrument. We ask people and organizations to donate musical instruments to our tax-exempt organization and then we match the donated instruments with the countless requests we receive. See the miracle of music in action, transforming young hungry souls into inspired musicians.

Who We Do It For

  • We support parents who cannot afford the cost of renting or purchasing an instrument.
  • We support music teachers and program directors who have students unable to participate because of the cost.
  • We support established, innovative community music programs that need support.
  • We have served more than 16,000 children in the past 27 years.

NPR Interview

Check out an NPR interview with Hungry for Music Executive Director Jeff Campbell. It was aired on NPR’s Morning Edition, hosted by Noel King, on October 19, 2020.  The brief interview also featured the director of the Junior Appalachian Musicians (JAM) and several band members. 

Download Our 20-Year Retrospective

In 2019, we celebrated our 25th year of providing the gift of music to underserved children with a hunger to play. We can’t wait to share the 25-year retrospective with you!

Number of Instruments Distributed in 2022:

2,685

Good News!

If you would like to get a more in-depth insight into our mission,
please check out our newsletter archive and see what we’ve been doing!

Looking Back...

Like everyone, our plans were completely upended in 2020 due to the pandemic. But despite the change in plans, it was a year of opportunities, synchronicity, and growth.

Strad Donation
Received a monumental donation of over 1,300 quality violins, violas, and cellos from The Strad Rental Company in Redding, CT and have already distributed over 900 to programs in over 30 states.
Successful, Inc.
Forming partnerships with synergistic organizations enables more children to benefit from our services. New partners include Successful, Inc. (Memphis) and Music For Life Alliance (Nashville).
Enlisted artist Bud Wilkinson to create "Tree of Harmony" in front of our main office in Mt. Jackson, VA with instruments that are no longer playable and that we are unable to put in the dumpster.
aarp
Grateful for press mentions — NPR Morning Edition (with the Junior Appalachian Musicians) and AARP Magazine (Springsteen issue) — that led to instruments being shipped to us from all over the country.

2019

Hungry for Music - Kids 2019
The Hungry for Music outreach continues to increase. We distributed a record 1,244 music instruments last year, supporting scores of school and after-school music programs.
foundation
With a 25-year history of organically growing with little institutional support, we are now receiving much-needed assistance. Peachtree House Foundation’s support has helped us double our outreach.
service project
Children and teenagers continue to be our biggest supporters. Through community service projects all over the country, dedicated youth collect more than half of the instruments we distribute.
hungry for music office
We opened up a new office and distribution center in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, about 90 minutes from the Washington, DC Metro area.

2018

The Magic Harp
Hungry for Music was able to facilitate the donation of a $20,000 Lyon & Healy harp to the Young Musician’s Foundation in Los Angeles from a donor in New York City. Read the complete magical story here.
Daddario Foundation
In partnership with D’Addario Foundation, we held successful instrument drives in Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, and New Orleans. Music instruments were donated to school and after-school music programs in those cities.
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
For the third consecutive year, Hungry for Music held a week-long music instrument drive at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame that culminated with a Saturday concert featuring performances by Hungry for Music supported programs.
Reverb Gives
Reverb awarded Hungry for Music with 2,500 Reverb Bucks, allowing us to purchase music instruments and gear to fill requests that are not immediately in our inventory.

Our Outreach is Growing & We Need Your Support. How Can You Help?

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