October 4, 2017 | Blogs and News

Children’s Music Fund Celebrates 15 Years of Service

Launches Healing Through Music Campaign to Provide Music Therapy to Chronically-Ill Kids

LOS ANGELES–Oct. 4, 2017–Children’s Music Fund, a leading Los Angeles-based children’s music therapy charity,announced that it has achieved its 15th year of service as an advocate for music therapy for children with life-altering medical conditions. Serving an average of 2000 children per year in underserved communities throughout Southern California, and in eight other states, the nonprofit has donated thousands of hours of fully-funded music therapy programs, gifted hundreds of musical instruments and sponsored quantitative research to further integrate music with medicine.

Committed to its mission of healing through music, Children’s Music Fund’s anniversary celebration places the spotlight on the organization’s core: all the children it has helped and their immediate families, as well as its board-certified music therapists and countless supporters. The organization plans to raise $150,000 to expand its in-hospital programs and instrument donations locally and in other states, as well as the number of children it can bring the pain and anxiety reducing benefits of music therapy to, in order to help them on their journey towards a better quality of life.

“I am grateful that through the support of generous donors and our dedicated staff, Children’s Music Fund has succeeded in providing the healing power of music to children in need for 15 years,” said Dr. Raffi Tachdjian, Children’s Music Fund Founder and President. “Music also serves as medicine, and we here at the Children’s Music Fund are motivated to continue bringing music therapy into hospitals across the nation through our network of music therapists, instrument donation and quantitative research efforts.”

The Healing Through Music initiative and the 15 Years of Service Celebration includes an official theme song, “Change” featuring Emma Ejwertz and written by our founder Dr. Tachdjian under his recording project Airedoc. Airedoc will donate its proceeds from downloads from this inspiring new song to Children’s Music Fund. Events planned include a Rockstar Day at the Village Recording Studios for one of the organization’s patients, and the Healing Through Music Gala: 15th Anniversary Masquerade, which will bring together the medical community and the music and entertainment industries to raise awareness for the healing powers of music.

Our History

Dr. Raffi Tachdjian (allergist & pediatric pain specialist) founded the Children’s Music Fund in 2002 during his pediatric residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, after he was inspired by a young patient named Justin, who had a passion for music. A musician himself, Dr. Tachdjian understood the therapeutic benefits of music and knew that it needed to be an important part of Justin’s treatment. Not finding any instruments in the hospital, Dr. Tachdjian personally purchased Justin a guitar. From that moment on, he was determined to raise funds to purchase musical instruments and later to provide music therapy, healing through music one child at a time.

John De Cola, a father of one of Dr. Tachdjian’s early patients, shares his anniversary reflection: “I met Raffi in Boston as a resident at MGH, where he took my two-month-old daughter on rounds once in a while. During this time, I was able to witness some of the beginnings of the Children’s Music Fund. Raffi is one of the most caring and dedicated doctors I have ever had the pleasure to meet and was so happy he was one of the residents that took care of my daughter. Today, 15 years later, she is here, a happy 15 year old, partially because of his care.”

Resources
About the Children’s Music Fund

Children’s Music Fund (CMF) provides music therapy and musical instruments to kids with chronic or life-altering illnesses, such as different forms of cancer, blood disorders, lung/heart/kidney disease, autism, and immune-deficiencies to help improve their quality of life. Engaging children in music therapy helps reduce pain, fear, and anxiety, and provides a much needed distraction from their conditions. CMF connects eligible patients to board-certified music therapists who provide a personalized treatment plan at home and in-hospitals, gifts musical instruments to our patients, as well as supports and conducts research on music therapy to further innovate the field and work to integrate music with medicine. 501©(3) nonprofit organization. www.theCMF.org

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