What if we told you we are running a program that motivates at-risk high school students to not only stay in school, but keep their behavior, attendance and GPA's up?

It's true, and it's working! Just look some of the testimonials we've received –  

“I kept hearing about how cool JamPro was but I wasn’t able to go because I was failing 2 classes. When Hopper told me I could go if I bring my grades up I was stoked! I immediately brought my grades up.”  Sean F. – Student, Washoe Innovations High School

“JamPro has given me confidence in life and they have opened the door for multiple opportunities beyond what a regular school can offer. They have also helped me stay motivated to bring my grades up. I was failing Algebra class, but when I was told I can’t participate if I’m failing, I quickly brought my grade up to make sure I would make the next  session. This experience has changed my outlook of myself...."  Ariana M. – Student, Washoe Innovations High School 

“When I first saw JamPro I couldn’t believe my eyes, I was like a kid in a candy store. Seeing all the different equipment and the facility in general was amazing. I didn’t know there was a place like this in Reno. Knowing that I might be able to learn from the pros and work on their state of the art equipment opened my eyes to endless opportunities. I quickly realized that I could make good money from the training I was going to receive. Looking forward to more JamPro training in the future!”  Julian D. – Student, Washoe Innovations High School

Here is what we're doing –

We are running a new and innovative Music Intervention & Vocational pilot program for Washoe Innovations High School. This is a Title 1 designated high school with a large number of at-risk students – many of whom have failed out, were expelled, or for a variety of other reasons not successful at other schools in the district. Washoe Innovations High School is truly the last resort for them. The program we run consists of 11-13 students (depending on the week) coming to JamPro Music Factory for audio production, live sound engineering, and other music industry related vocational training. In order to come each week, students participating in the program must maintain a minimum GPA as well as meet certain behavior and attendance minimums. These students LOVE coming here and work hard to meet the requirements in order to keep coming – frankly, in just the first few weeks of the program the school saw dramatic results. Not only did attendance improve for the students in the program, several of them sought extra help academically to get their GPAs up. The program is already so successful that we are working on expanding it to more students at Washoe Innovations High School as well as other at-risk high schools and middle schools in the district. 

Here is our challenge –

Transportation for the students in this program is a huge issue. The school's transportation budget provides only for public bus fare, which means these students take three separate busses and spend over an hour traveling each way – and that’s if everything is on schedule, and it’s usually not. By car the trip to JamPro Music Factory takes only 12 minutes! Private transportation would not only greatly improve the experience for the students (and reduce risk), it would enable us to greatly expand this program.

Here is our solution –

We would like to acquire a 12 to 15 passenger van to transport students to and from JamPro Music Factory. This van would not only be used for this program, but for the future education programs as well. Our cost on a new 2014/15 Ford Transit or Mercedes Sprinter (both are turbo diesel) is approximately $50,000. Fortunately, a few dealers have generously offered to sell us a van at or below invoice price, which works out to a savings of roughly $5,000. From a business perspective, the revenue from this program doesn't support this level of expense, so without financial support we will not be able to make this purchase.

Here is our goal –

Raise $50,000 to purchase a 12 or 15 passenger Ford Transit Van or Mercedes Sprinter Van.

A warmest thank you for your support from all of us here at JamPro Music Factory!