It’s finally here!
The Friends of Music Online Auction, which begins Saturday, March 26 and continues through April 9, 2016, will raise funds for the Friends of Music–Lyme-Old Lyme scholarship program and support the Lyme–Old Lyme High School (LOLHS) Music Department trip this December. This auction will be very much like any auction event — except that you can bid on items from the comfort of your own home or office, at any time of day or night, and you don’t have to dress up or get a sitter! The auction is open to anyone with an Internet connection; friends and family near and far are welcome and encouraged to take part.
A great number of wonderful auction items are up for bid — including theater tickets, sports tickets, camps, museum and park admissions, and gifts and specialty items. The auction is hosted through eBay’s charity portal and can be found at http://charity.ebay.com/charity-auctions/charity/friends-of-music-lyme-old-lyme/146267/.
This online auction is one of several fundraisers that Friends of Music is conducting this year as it pursues its mission to support the music programs at all levels in the Region 18 (Lyme and Old Lyme) Public Schools. Initial funds raised in this event will be earmarked for Friends of Music scholarships, which are awarded to deserving graduating seniors.
Additional funds raised will help defray the costs of the LOLHS Music Department trip to Hawaii in December, when student musicians from LOLHS will represent Connecticut at ceremonies marking the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Lyme–Old Lyme High School is the only school in Connecticut — and one of two from New England — to be participating in the event.
These student musicians will perform together with other schools from the United States and Japan on the pier of the Battleship Missouri, a World-War II–era ship that was engaged in the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. It was on the Missouri, in Tokyo Bay in September 1945, that the papers of surrender were signed by representatives of the Allied and Axis powers — formally ending World War II.
The Missouri is now docked in Pearl Harbor as a permanent memorial and museum, providing a fitting bookend to the story of the bombing on Dec. 7, 1941, that launched US involvement in the war.Lyme–Old Lyme High School Chorus and Band members, along with Choral Director Kristine Pekar and Band Director Jacob Wilson, are busy preparing for this performance, which will demonstrate how cultures once opposed can come together to present a musical gift to the world.
There is a substantial cost for this trip, and Friends of Music is committed to raising funds to help cover these costs. Other projects under way are the sale of gift cards, a huge tag sale (date TBA), and a 5K road race in July. Corporate and private donations will also be gratefully accepted. Information on each of these projects can be found on the Friends of Music website, http://www.friendsofmusiclol.org.
For more information, e-mail [email protected]. As a registered 501(c)3) nonprofit organization, Friends of Music can accept matching funds from employers.