50 Sing for Hope Pianos Will Be Permanently Placed in New York City Schools

Sing for Hope today announced the 50 New York City public schools across the five boroughs chosen to receive Sing for Hope Pianos this fall. The placement of Sing for Hope Pianos in schools is in partnership with The New York City Department of Education and benefits an estimated 15,000 school children. The delivery, maintenance, and associated programming for each piano is estimated to cost $100,000 and the program has not yet been fully funded.

After nearly a month on the streets of New York City, 50 of the 2017 Sing for Hope Pianos will be delivered to their permanent homes in schools throughout the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and Staten Island beginning in September. The 50 schools were chosen through an application process from among the hundreds of New York City public schools without a working piano. The full list of 50 schools receiving the pianos is listed below.

The 2017 Sing for Hope Pianos were designed by a roster of artists including Kate McKinnon, Roberta Flack, Billy the Artist, the Broadway casts of Aladdin, Beautiful, Cats, Chicago, Lion King, Phantom of the Opera, School of Rock, Waitress, and Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 - and many more. Legendary singer/ songwriter Carole King requested that the Sing for Hope Piano painted by the Broadway cast of "Beautiful" be given to her alma mater, James Madison High School, located in Brooklyn.

Within the past decade, funding for the arts has decreased by 47 percent. Sing for Hope looks to combat this by increasing direct access to the arts and placing pianos in underserved schools and communities. When transported to a school, each piano is delivered with great fanfare, complete with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and celebratory concerts from Sing for Hope Artist Partners and students within the schools. Prior to being delivered to New York City schools, the pianos are placed in public outdoor spaces for three weeks as part of the Sing for Hope Pianos annual summer initiative.

"We founded Sing for Hope with the vision of 'art for all,' and with each year that passes, we have the privilege of bringing these Sing for Hope Pianos to more and more children throughout New York City," said Sing for Hope Co-Founders Monica Yunus and Camille Zamora. "For both of us, music was the way we expressed ourselves as kids, it was our lifeline, and we want to make sure that every child has the opportunity for creative exploration. These 50 Sing for Hope Pianos will ensure that many more voices are heard."

Sing for Hope must raise $100,000 to cover the costs associated with bringing the pianos and a year of programming to New York City schools. The funds raised will be used for repair, rehabilitation, delivery, and maintenance of the 50 pianos; dynamic arts programming, including inspiring concerts and workshops; and educational tools, including online and printed music education resources, which are provided with each Sing for Hope Piano. Donations can be made at goo.gl/Ap9H5p.

Schools include:

Bronx: Mott Hall Community School, P.S. 035 Franz Siegel, I.S. 232X The Alexander Macombs Middle School, The Bronx Mathematics Preparatory School, P17X@43, P.S. 196, Claremont International High School, P186x@306, and P.S. 62X Inocensio Casanova

Brooklyn: P.S. 46 Edward C. Blum, P.S. 532 New Bridges Elementary, P.S. 196K, P.S. 194, Highland Park Community School, P.S. 114 Ryder Elementary, P.S. 52 Sheepshead Bay, Brownsville Collaborative Middle School, James Madison High School, Urban Assembly School for Law & Justice, P.S. 189 The Bilingual Center, P.S. 319, and AHRC Middle High School

Queens: PS 20 John Bowne Elementary School, Queens Satellite High School for Opportunity, Academy of Medical Technology, P.S. 154, Community Voices Middle School, Shield Institute, P.S. 135Q, Village Academy, P.S. 50Q Talfourd Lawn, Jacob Blackwell CS111, I.S. 109Q Jean Nuzzi, P.S./M.S. 42 Robert Vernam School, P.S. 212, and Institute for Health Professions at Cambria Heights

Manhattan: District 79 - Manhattan Hub, Pathways to Graduation, P.S. 79M Dr Horan School, P.S. 4M The Duke Ellington School, High School For Excellence and Innovation, Rose Hill Pre-K Center, Benjamin Altman School, 47 ASL and English High School Campus (HS 47, PS 347 and PS 138), Landmark High School, I.S./H.S. 293M City College Academy of the Arts, P.S. 347 and The Global Learning Collaborative

Staten Island: The Stapleton Lighthouse Community School P.S. 78, P.S. 44 The Thomas Brown School, and P.S. 13

The 2017 Sing for Hope Pianos are made possible by the support of Fosun Group, 28 Liberty, the Sing for Hope's Founders' Circle-including The Arnhold Foundation in loving memory of Sissy Arnhold, The Thea Petschek Iervolino Foundation, The Anna-Maria & Stephen Kellen Foundation, and Ann Ziff-and the generosity of donors like you.

Since 2006, Sing for Hope's arts outreach programs have brought hope and inspiration to thousands of individuals in under-resourced schools, public hospitals, hospices, veterans' centers, after-school programs, neighborhood centers, nursing homes, and disability networks. To date, Sing for Hope has partnered with over 250 nonprofit organizations, involved over 3,500 artists in community volunteerism, and placed over 400 artist-created Sing for Hope Pianos throughout NYC's parks and public spaces for everyone to play - a symbol and celebration of art for all. Sing for Hope is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. More information can be found at www.SingforHope.org.

Pictured: Students at PS161 happily accept a Sing for Hope Piano created by artist Keith Carollo