Charlotte Cardin and The Evenko Foundation Donate $25,000 In Musical Instruments To The Ecole Secondaire Des Pionniers In Trois-Rivières

Yesterday the evenko foundation, in collaboration with Charlotte Cardin, donated 47 musical instruments worth more than $25,000 to the Ecole secondaire des Pionniers via its "In harmony with our schools" program. The new instruments include acoustic guitars, keyboards, a drum kit, as well as microphones-essential elements to launch a new popular music program at the school, which is sure to motivate students!

"Our school is multicultural (about 30 nationalities), and the arts and cultural activities are very lively. Every student should have access to music to express themselves, no matter their program or background," says music teacher Martine Rochefort.

Charlotte Cardin's involvement

During her two concerts at the Cogeco Amphitheatre last July, Charlotte Cardin and her fans were kind enough to donate $1 from each ticket sold to the evenko foundation. The amount raised contributed in part to yesterday's musical instrument donation.

"I'm extremely proud to have contributed to this musical instrument donation and to give back to the Trois-Rivières community that warmly welcomed me last summer at the Cogeco Amphitheatre. Music makes people feel good, and I'm happy to help the evenko foundation in making it accessible to everyone," says Charlotte Cardin.

"The pandemic had a major impact on the revenues of the foundation and several other charity organizations. As such we're extremely grateful to Charlotte Cardin for her generosity, and to Sirius XM Canada, which has supported our musical instrument donations since 2016. We're overwhelmed by the growing demand for musical instruments in schools since the beginning of the pandemic," says Nathalie Roberge, director of the evenko foundation. "It's important to take action to make sure that musical education and its many benefits are accessible to all young people in Quebec."

Last February, a group of Quebec music teachers, with the support of a doctor in neuroscience, claimed in a letter of opinion published on the Le Soleil website that music is essential to the development and mental health of youth. They explained that playing music triggers the release of dopamine in the brain, a neurotransmitter that creates pleasure. They also claimed that music can reduce pain and stress, bring people together, stimulate creativity, foster the development of the basic cognitive functions, and improve academic performance, including reading ability (Kraus and Chandrasekaran, 2010).

Since 2016, as part of the "In harmony with our schools" program, in partnership with Sirius XM Canada, the foundation is thrilled to have donated more than $555,000 in instruments to more than 25 schools and organizations across Quebec.

Launched in May 2015, the evenko foundation's mission is to give all young people in Quebec the means to fulfill themselves through music and art. The foundation believes that music and art education is fundamental to the social, psychological, emotional, and academic development of young people. fondationevenko.ca | Facebook