Page 48 February 2 0 1 4 Arizona’s Ear Candy connects nationally By Amanda Savage In October 2013 Arizona Ear Candy Charity, a non-profit that donates music instruments to public schools, announced it merged with Little Kids Rock, a national non-profit that provides free instruments, music lessons and teacher training to public schools. Founder of Ear Candy, Nate Anderson is now Little Kids Rock West Coast Director, based in San Francisco. Over the course of six years Ear Candy impacted over 60,000 under-served youth by providing used, quality instruments to public schools in need. Founded in 2002, Little Kids Rock trains teachers on how to teach modern music programs, both in-class and after school to youths in public schools. Currently the charity has over 1,200 programs nationwide and is expected to impact over 120,000 kids in 2014. Ear Candy founder, Nate Anderson, explains the merger between the two charities was initially prompted by Anderson, as a partnership, and that it was Little Kids Rock who introduced the idea of a merger. Anderson was at the National Association of Music Merchants when he expressed his vision to bring Ear Candy to a national level to multiple charities. Little Kids Rock appealed to Anderson in three main ways. First and foremost was the “shared aligned vision to help as many kids as possible,” explains Anderson. The second, was that upon merging, Anderson would still have an influential voice in key decision making with the organization. “I didn’t build this for six years just to give it up,” explains Anderson. Last, he genuinely liked the people. Currently Little Kids Rock has no programs in Arizona, although Anderson says that Little Kids Rock would like to bring music programs and instrument donation programs to Arizona within the Ear Candy has provided used instruments to more than 60,000 students. 2014 - 2015 school year. “We are 100% reliable on funding in Arizona to make this happen,” explains Anderson. Little Kids Rock is currently meeting with foundations and individual donors who contributed to the success of Ear Candy for donations. Currently the former Director of Operations of Ear Candy is running a separate, smaller instrument donation program in Arizona. CELEBRATE RECOVERY In Christ We Grow That Others May Know Sunday Worship 8:00 & 10:45 A.M. –Traditional 8:30 & 10:30 A.M. –Contemporary 12:30 P.M. –Spanish Service Wednesday Worship 7:00 P.M. Saturday Worship 5:00 P.M. Saturday Youth-Led Worship 6:00 P.M. Sunday School / Bible Classes 9:40 A.M. (Nursery Care At All A.M. Sunday Services) 3901 E. Indian School Rd., Phoenix (602) 955-4830 visit our website www.cclphoenix.org e-mail us at christchurch@cclphoenix.org HELP KEEP LOCAL HISTORY ALIVE! The Arcadia News is working on a history book about Arcadia. Please contact Greg by e-mail: greg@arcadianews.com or through the Arcadia News office: 602-840-6379 if you have any photos or memorabilia you would like to share about our community!

Page 49 February 2 0 1 4 Once just a dream, BiblioTrucka moves closer to reality By Sarah Stecko Three Arizona State University (ASU) students recognized the need for libraries in some communities, as well as the rising food truck trend in the Phoenix area. They decided to draw a connection between the two and created BiblioTrucka. The new concept, “BiblioTrucka” derived its name from the Spanish term: biblioteca, which translates to “library.” Students Alex Miller, Jasmine Clarke- Telfer and Elijah Allan are the founders of the plan to convert retired food trucks to upgraded mobile libraries. The trio plans to focus strongly on being more modern by incorporating e-readers and other computer technology. “The students we are looking to serve may not have access to technology at home and we recognize that technology plays an integral role in standardized testing,” the group said. The trio’s motive was initially to fulfill their Changemaking in Education course offered by ASU’s Barrett Honor’s College, Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College and Teach for America. However, the dream seemed to evolve into a more obtainable goal when the group submitted their idea for the ASU Innovation Challenge grant. The details of the project can be viewed at http://bibliotrucka.com. One of their business goals is to build a partnership with NFL Youth Education Town (YET), a chain of educational and recreational centers in the United States providing afterschool activities in under- privileged areas, because they lack a library. This would provide benefits to low-income families of the community and help in teaching literacy to the youth at the same time. Elijah, a conservation biology and ecology major with a minor in American Indian Studies, is from Shonto and Toligai on the Navajo Nation. He understands the importance of reading to learn the language. He says his Navajo leaders have always said, “education is the ladder.” “By providing another resource for learning, I am helping my Native people as well as other Native people to strengthen their families, people and communities,” Elijah said. Another major step the team wants to take is to partner with the Phoenix Public Libraries and Friends of the Phoenix Public Library. These outlets are where they have plotted to receive their inventory. An estimated 300-500 books can be stored in BiblioTrucka. Also, they wish to use the same software for a book catalog system to prevent damage or loss. Alternatively, the group wants to raise additional funds to cover the start up costs. The current cost estimate is that it will be $10,000 to purchase a truck and construct it into a mobile library. Future plans for expansion would begin in the valley and reach out to the Navajo Nation reservation. According to Alex, Jasmine and Elijah BiblioTrucka plans to eventually extend its services nationwide. Editor’s note: Photos of the trucks are not available because plans for BiblioTrucka are still in the early stages. Elijiah Allan works at a school in need of the books he hopes BiblioTrucka can provide. BibioTrucka visits a school in need. In Christ We Grow That Others May Know Sunday Worship 8:00 & 10:45 A.M. –Traditional 8:30 & 10:30 A.M. –Contemporary 12:30 P.M. –Spanish Service Wednesday Worship 7:00 P.M. Saturday Worship 5:00 P.M. Saturday Youth-Led Worship 6:00 P.M. Sunday School / Bible Classes 9:40 A.M. (Nursery Care At All A.M. Sunday Services) 01 E. Indian School Rd., Phoenix 602) 955-4830 visit our website www.cclphoenix.org e-mail us at christchurch@cclphoenix.org Zounds® Founder and CEO, Sam Thomasson and his daughter, Kate Sam Thomasson describes the day his daughter Kate was born as the happiest of his life. When Kate was a toddler she lost most of her hearing due to a sudden illness. Through the years, it became clear that the costly traditional aids that were fitted for Kate were ineffective, causing discomfort as well as affecting her speech development. Like other fathers, Sam Thomasson would do anything for his daughter. An accomplished electrical engineer, Sam set out to completely redesign hearing aids, using Kate’s experiences as his guide. He installed an electronics lab in their home and worked nights and weekends developing new hearing technology. To date, Sam and his team of dedicated engineers have amassed 57 ground-breaking patents with technology that can only be found in Zounds® products. Zounds® technology has changed Kate’s life and the lives of Zounds® customers around the nation. The Hearing Aid Company with Superior Technology... and Heart. 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