VIA PRESS RELEASE | Stevie Van Zandt’s Rock and Roll Forever Foundation and its national K-12 curriculum initiative, TeachRock.org, along with the student-run organization YOUnison as well as 50 supporting organizations will be honoring first responders and healthcare workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic today, April 30, as part of the “Worldwide Day of Gratitude” initiative. “Worldwide Day of Gratitude” will be a global coming together through the arts and to mark the occasion, the late Bill Withers’ classic “Lean On Me” will be played on SiriusXM stations tomorrow at 7:00 pm EDT in a nationwide sing-a-long.
Teachers, students, and members of the general public, are all invited to learn and share the iconic song via sheet music authorized by Hal Leonard Corporation, as well as special lesson plans developed by TeachRock.org, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and others. Participants are encouraged to download the materials and then share their unique versions on YouTube and social media channels using the hashtags #LeanOnUs and #DayOfGratitude. “We are all finding ways to say thank you to our essential worker heroes who have worked right through this very scary time,” says Van Zandt. “We applaud them every night at 7:00. Now we’ll add a great song to say thank you.”
“The effort put forth by the first responders and healthcare workers has been incredibly inspiring to so many around the world,” said Andrew E. Morrison, co-founder of YOUnison, a student-centered community empowering YOU to achieve musical excellence based around self-directed learning, creativity, and collaboration. “To show our gratitude, teachers, students, and people of all ages can use the power of music and the arts to unite to honor these amazing heroes.”
The Worldwide Day of Gratitude has attracted the attention and collaboration from the leading organizations in music and education, including Amani Project, American Choral Directors Association, Arts Ed NJ, Australian Society of Music Education, Berklee Student Government Association, CMA Foundation, Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), Conn-Selmer, CREO, D’Addario Foundation, Dansr, Drum Corps International, Grammy Museum, Grammy Music Education Coalition, Hal Leonard Corporation, Institute for Arts Integration, International Federation of Musicians, International Society for Music Education, John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, Kappa Kappa Psi, Little Kids Orchestra, Kids Rock, Music Education Council (United Kingdom), Music First, Music for All, Music Performance Trust Fund, Music Service Learning, Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, NAMM Foundation, National Association for Music Education, Noteflight, Pearl, Percussive Arts Society, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Rock and Roll Forever Foundation, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Save The Music Foundation, School Culture and Climate Initiative, SEL4NJ, Social-Emotional and Character Development Lab, Spanish Society for Music Education, SpreadMusicNow, State Education Agencies Directors of Arts Education, System Blue, TeachRock.org, The Lewis Prize, USBands, WGI, WURRLYedu, Yamaha and YOUnison.
The Rock and Roll Forever Foundation is a 501(c)(3) established by Stevie Van Zandt. TeachRock,org, the Foundation’s groundbreaking national K-12 curriculum initiative, uses the history of popular music and culture to help teachers keep students engaged and in school. To best support teachers and students during the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis, the organization is currently providing Distance Learning resources to K-12 facilitators of all subjects. For more information or to make a donation, please visit https://teachrock.org.
YOUnison is a student-centered community empowering YOU to achieve musical excellence based around self-directed learning, creativity, and collaboration. YOUnison’s mission is to redefine lifelong individual development through music, leadership, and social-emotional learning. To access sheet music and sample lessons, and to learn more about YOUnison, please visit www.younison.org/leanonus. Learn more at www.younison.org or contact the team at info@younison.org.
