Skip to content
ACM Lifting Lives
Improving Lives Through The Power Of Music™️

ACM LIFTING LIVES® ANNOUNCES FALL 2010 BENEFICIARIES


Organization Awards $800,000 Overall in 2010, Impacts 20 Deserving Programs Nationally This Fall

ENCINO, CA (October 5, 2010) – ACM Lifting Lives® which is dedicated to improving lives through the power of music, announced its 2010 beneficiaries today, including new grants for Beth Israel Medical Center Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine, Conscious Alliance/Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Grounded In Music, Grooves On The Move, Nashville Symphony, Pattison's Academy, Sing for Hope, Sophia's Heart Foundation and Stars for Stripes.

This grant cycle brings the organization's total funding for 2010 to $800,000, including funding for flood relief in Middle Tennessee as well as funds distributed via the Diane Holcomb Emergency Relief Fund, which provides immediate and confidential financial assistance to music industry professionals in need. ACM Lifting Lives' giving also includes donations made to artists' favorite causes through a monthly "My Cause" web feature.

ACM Lifting Lives increased its funding to approximately $190,000 overall with this cycle—nearly twice the disbursements from last fall's cycle—and expanded funding to reach 20 programs across the nation, in total. Last year's fall grant cycle included 15 recipients and totaled approximately $100,000.

"These gifts can ultimately be attributed to the support ACM Lifting Lives has received from the music industry and the artist community, who give of their time for ACM endeavors that raise our corpus," said Erin Spahn, Executive Director of ACM Lifting Lives. "In a year of economic recovery, we are thrilled to be in a position to increase our giving and support these deserving organizations."

"Our goal has been to grow ACM Lifting Lives through our grant cycle – to expand our reach and help people in need all over the country through the power of music," said Gayle Holcomb, Chairman, ACM Lifting Lives Board of Directors. "In addition to serving our home bases of Los Angeles and Nashville, we are now funding programs in New York, Austin, Washington, DC, Charleston and even on a Native American reservation in Boulder. The need for healing and learning through music is widespread, and we've taken great strides toward meeting that need, nationally."

Programs funded during the inaugural ACM Lifting Lives grant cycle include:

  • The Art of Elysium in Los Angeles, CA and New York, NY – received funding for "Musical Expressions Program," providing music therapy and education to hospitalized children
  • Beth Israel Medical Center Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine in New York, NY – received funding to provide music therapy to patients as well as to conduct music- and medicine-related research; the organization is an international training site for music therapy educators and professionals
  • Conscious Alliance/Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Boulder, CO – received funding to support language camp activities with a drum clinic/music class on an Indian Reservation
  • Children's Hospital Los Angeles Music Therapy Program in Los Angeles, CA – received funding for the second consecutive year for personnel support for music therapists in the hospital's Artists Program, of which services are offered free to patients and their families
  • Free Arts for Abused Children in Los Angeles, CA – received funding for five music-themed "Free Arts Days" for 200 children, including funding for personnel, materials, and operational expenses
  • Grounded In Music in Austin, TX – received funding to provide music education and mentorship to underserved children in Central Texas. The organization was submitted for funding consideration by artist Jack Ingram, who has performed for the kids at Grounded In Music as well as gone into the studio with them to help them record a song.
  • Grooves On The Move in Los Angeles, CA – received funding for its "Summer Night Lights Program" which brings a mobile recording studio to visit schools and community youth centers in Southern California, providing students with music, audio recording and production instruction
  • Holston Home in East Tennessee – received funding to expand their music education program, "Music Heals Hurt," including hiring part-time piano and guitar teachers. Holston Home provides a home, hope and healing for children and families struggling with life's challenges, and was submitted for funding consideration by artist Rodney Atkins. Atkins lived at Holston Home as an infant, prior to being adopted.
  • KIPP Academy of Opportunity, part of KIPP LA Schools in Los Angeles, CA. – received funding for the purchase of 20 new instruments for its "Music for the Masses" program, which brings music education to KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) Los Angeles middle school students
  • Lollipop Theater Network in Los Angeles, CA and Nashville, TN – received funding to secure session facilitators and to provide instruments and other materials for "Rhythm of Hope" interactive music session for pediatric patients at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital and Children's Hospital L.A.
  • Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation a national organization – received funding for the second consecutive year for purchase and repair of instruments for underserved school or after-school programs
  • Music National Service Initiative in Oakland, CA and the Bay Area – received funding for the "Bay Area MusicianCorps" which gives stipends to young adults to teach music in at-risk schools
  • Musicians On Call a national organization – received funding for the second consecutive year, this time to launch a new chapter in D.C. at hospitals that serve our troops and veterans and that conduct important national research. Last year funding was for live bedside performances for healthcare patients in Nashville, TN
  • Nashville Symphony in Nashville, TN – received funding to provide musical instruments and services directly to at-risk youth, in middle and high schools
  • Pattison's Academy in Charleston, SC – received funding for its school program, including music equipment, assistants, music therapists, occupational therapists and a nurse for children with multiple and severe disabilities. The submission for this organization came from artist Darius Rucker, who has supported Pattison's Academy from its inception in 2005.
  • Sing for Hope in New York, NY – received funding to bring live performances to patients in healthcare facilities, with a special focus on elder care, rehabilitative, and palliative care facilities
  • Songs for Kids in Atlanta, GA and Los Angeles, CA – received funding for live music performances in hospitals, specifically the "Kids Rock!" program at Shriners Hospital in Los Angeles
  • Sophia's Heart Foundation in Nashville, TN – received funding for an after-school music and arts program for children 3 days a week throughout the 2010-2011 school year. Sophia's Heart was founded in honor of Sophia, the late wife of artist Danny Gokey (who submitted the organization for funding consideration), and pays tribute to her legacy of love by inspiring children's minds through music and arts.
  • Stars for Stripes in Nashville, TN – received funding for one overseas celebrity entertainment tour to reinforce to troops that America remembers and supports their efforts
  • Vanderbilt Kennedy Center's ACM Lifting Lives Music Camp in Nashville, TN – for the second consecutive year, received scholarships for children and complete funding for camp that has a dual purpose of studying Williams Syndrome and providing music therapy to kids in the form of performance and education


For information on program guidelines and how to submit for the 2011 grant cycle, please visit www.acmliftinglives.org.

About ACM Lifting Lives
ACM Lifting Lives® is the philanthropic arm of the Academy of Country Music dedicated to improving lives through the power of music. Each year, ACM Lifting Lives provides grants to music therapy and music education programs. Other giving includes serving members of the country music community who face unexpected medical or financial hardship through the Diane Holcomb Emergency Relief Fund and partnering with artists to improve lives through music. For more information, please visit www.ACMLiftingLives.org.