The Brad Delp Foundation is awarding two significant grants this week, according to foundation director and spokesman Bill Faulkner.  The presentations are to The Nashua Community Music School of Nashua, NH and Plugged In of Needham, MA.

"With these donations, we at the Brad Delp Foundation are pleased to further our mission to continue on Brad's spirit of generosity and giving”, said Jennifer Delp, foundation President. “We are particularly pleased to be making donations to organizations in Brad's home region of New England, as he always took pride in his ability to help out in the community where he always felt happiest, and most at home."

 
Delp, lead singer for the bands Boston, RTZ and Beatle Juice, was well known not only as a gifted singer but as a quiet, humble humanitarian. During his lifetime, Brad was particularly generous with his time and talent, playing many benefit concerts each year and otherwise supporting causes that he believed in such as children's causes, anti violence organizations, school fundraisers, hunger and shelter programs, among many others.

"We are extremely grateful to the Brad Delp Foundation for this grant.” said NCMS Executive Director Gillian Hinkle. “It is our mission to make music instruction accessible to families of all income levels.  In today's economic environment this has become increasingly difficult and we would not be able to accomplish our goals without their assistance."

"At Plugged In, we provide a compassionate and nurturing learning environment based on a love of music and a desire to help others. In this environment, kids feel safe taking risks, they gain self-confidence, and they are comfortable accessing and expressing their natural feelings of generosity and kindness to others”, said Sandra Rizkallah of Plugged In, “In his life, Brad Delp exemplified many of these same ideals. We are proud and honored to receive a grant from the Brad Delp Foundation to help young musicians find community and carry on Brad's humanitarian efforts."

“We’re delighted to present major operational grants to these organizations” said Faulkner, “and look forward to supporting students, schools and other music related organizations in the future.”

The Brad Delp Foundation, a non-profit, 501(c)3 charitable entity, was created by his children Jenna and John Michael, family and friends for the purpose of carrying on Bradley's legacy of compassion, generosity, and kindness. Brad had an uncommon ability and desire to listen, understand, and care about people. The foundation seeks to honor Brad's memory by awarding music related grants, scholarships and funding for school music programs.

The Nashua Community Music School is a non profit, 501(c)3 organization. Nashua CMS believes that learning and performing music is a valuable experience that not only provides a different area of knowledge; it also instills discipline and learning techniques which can be used in other areas. Most importantly, it provides the satisfaction of performing music, which remains with us throughout our lives. It is their goal to provide the Nashua community with a broad spectrum of learning, performing and listening opportunities in music and to provide vocal and instrumental lessons with the finest teachers available. More info at www.nashuacms.org

Plugged In  is a non-profit program for teenagers that teaches kids how to be in a rock band and, more importantly, about the importance of giving back to the community. Twice a year, there are benefit concerts and all the students vote to choose the organization for which the concert will raise money. Plugged In is about bringing young people together through music, teaching them the importance of using their music to make positive change in the world, and helping them gain self-confidence. Our goal with Plugged In is to have the charitable aspect of the program be so meaningful for our students that they will continue using their music to help others throughout their lives. More info available at www.pluggedinband.org

Donations to The Brad Delp Foundation can be made by mail at P.O. Box 1046, Lynnfield, MA 01940, or directly through the foundation website www.braddelpfoundation.org   Business correspondence and inquiries should be directed to The Brad Delp Foundation, attn: Bill Faulkner, 408 Lafayette Road, Hampton, NH 03842.