The Asbury Park Music Foundation will receive the Non-Profit of the Year Award at the Chamber of Commerce’s annual Carousel Awards on Fri., May 10 at Convention Hall.
The foundation has been an integral part of the community’s revival since it began in 2011 and has had a number of significant accomplishments over the past year.
It provides under-served youth with life-changing music education, helps the local music scene thrive and unites a diverse community through music. In addition to grants, our showcase events bring out the community and attract visitors while generating funds from corporate sponsors, individual donors and ticket sales.
The cornerstone of tehe foundation’s events are the successful weekly summer concert series Music Mondays at Springwood Park, Asbury Park Live and Asbury Park Concert Band. This summer’s concerts are scheduled to start the week of June 24 and run for 10 weeks. This past year also featured a popular Sunday Sessions series of acoustic storyteller shows and introduced monthly hip hop shows with Suburbia Friday Nights.
One of the most significant accomplishments was bringing a holiday show back to the city after a two-decade absence. The sold-out, A Very Asbury Holiday Show, held at the Paramount Theater, raised substantial funds for the Music Foundation as well as the Boys and Girls Club, Jewish Family and Children’s Service and the AP Toy Drive. The successful show is already on the calendar for Dec. 8.
Support from event fundraisers, non-profit foundations, corporate sponsors and individual donors makes it possible to maintain and grow programs including Music Saved My Life program.
In the last year, the foundation introduced the Beat Bus mobile studio/classroom, a Latin Music Experience program, two new summer camps, a genre-blending group and an audio tech program.
It has been a busy, exciting few months for APMF which recently received a Proclamation from the city in recognition for the good work being done.
“We are so honored to have been chosen by the Asbury Park Chamber of Commerce as the first recognized Non-Profit of the Year”, said Jeri Houseworth, Operations Director for APMF. “Sylvia Sylvia Cioffi, Jennifer Rae Stine, Matthew Whelan and everyone at the Chamber has always been so supportive of our mission, getting the word out on our events and helping us where and when needed. As a non-profit, we truly rely on the kindness and generosity of this strong, music-loving community from the Chamber to the local businesses, community minded sponsors and volunteers.”
The Asbury Park Music Foundation provides music-based programs, events and resources that generate opportunities for our youth, artists and community to succeed and build on Asbury Park’s legacy as a thriving, music-rich city by the sea. Funds raised by APMF support youth music programs, including the Hip Hop Institute at the Boys & Girls Club of Monmouth County, in-school music classes at Hope Academy, after-school music classes at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel School and Asbury Park public schools, and scholarships for under-served youth to attend the Lakehouse Academy.
