Mississippi's Meridian Star reports

In Lauderdale County, the Community Foundation of East Mississippi is trying to help fill the arts education gap by providing refurbished instruments to schools.

It loosely follows the VH1 Save the Music model, donating instruments to schools and districts.VH1's instruments are new, often purchased locally, and only offered to schools without music programs.

The clever hook that VH1 uses, however, is that schools must employ certified music teachers in order to retain their instruments. This measure is in place, of course, to incentivize long-term commitments to a robust music education program in schools.

Even without this particular strategy, the Foundation's work is a comendable moment of true leadership benefitting the community's children.

NB: VH1 has a beautiful and useful new website, replete with info to help any visitor make a difference for arts education in his or her community.