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 30 years, we’ve delivered more than 22,000 instruments to children in all 50 states and 35 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.
Donate an Instrument

Who We Do It For

  • We support music teachers, program directors, social workers, and school counselors 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 22,000 children in the past 30 years.
Request an Instrument

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!

View Archive

Number of Instruments Distributed in 2023:

2,172

Support Our Mission

Download Our 20-Year Retrospective

In 2024, we celebrate our 30th year of providing the gift of music to underserved children with a hunger to play.

Looking Back...

2023

Received a monumental donation of 5,000 musical instruments from Rayburn Music, a rental company in Connecticut.
With the help of the D’Addario Foundation we found an appropriate recipient for a $10,000 violin we had received from the sister of a NYC Ballet Orchestra violinist who had passed away.
After over a year of settling in, we finally had an event at our distribution center. Our partners, Junior Appalachians Musicians provided the music entertainment at our Open House concert event.
We are increasing the amount of advanced instrument donations to high schoolers who are pursuing music education in college, like the young man above.

2022

Partnered with the American Federation of Teachers to distribute two thousand ukuleles and held several special events in selected cities.
JAMBAR sponsored our mission and we helped distribute their product on our distribution trips and also shipped to schools with requested instruments.
Attended our first NAMM conference and made several excellent connections for purchasing instruments with manufacturers.
Our Distribution Center in Shenandoah Valley. We finally found a place big enough to handle our ever increasing inventory and flow of instruments.

2021

The miraculous harp story was included in the book, “88 More Ways Music Can Change Your Life”.
Made distribution trips to Southern Virginia, Louisville, Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans, Austin, San Antonio, Tampa, Miami, Atlanta, Charlotte, New York City, and New Jersey.
The cast and crew of David Byrne’s American Utopia on Broadway donated $10,000 to Hungry for Music in lieu of a cast party.
Audio Technica donated one million yen to celebrate one million sales of their classic AT2020 microphone. One million yen equals around $6,000.

2020

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.

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. 

Listen and read the transcript on the NPR Website

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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