6th graders in the music program at PS 137. Photo by Mike Steyels for BushwickBK

Within months of getting her hands on a guitar, Ebony Vasquez was studying at the Music Advancement Program at The Julliard School. But the only reason the 6th grader’s school had guitars was because they were donated by a private organization. Without that instrument, she never would have had found this opportunity.

While Vasquez’s case is exceptional, her teacher, Mike Mok, would like to spread the benefits of a musical education to even more students at his school, PS 137 in Ocean Hill. “The kids in bands — they WANT to be in school,” he said. So his next step is to start an after-school chorus program with the assistance of the CWB Foundation, whose mission is to provide access to music at schools located in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

The foundation has already donated instruments to the school, but it’s asking for donations for the chorus program. The organization currently runs one at P.S. 81 in the Bronx, where they also offer a band workshop. Those classes are taught by David Bailis and assisted by Stoddard Blackall, both of whom are graduates of the Berklee College of Music. Bailis would teach the chorus program in Brooklyn as well.

Most of the money raised would go towards paying the instructor to run the class, although some of it would help provide needed pieces for the band program already in place, such as drum stands and mouth pieces. All of the charity’s operational and administrative expenses are paid for by its board members and The Ruth Winkelman Wender Family Foundation.

If they can reach their goal of $7,500, the chorus program at PS 137 will run for the entire 2011 year and they plan to keep the program in place after that. They only need $1,000 more.

Although the CWB’s status as a tax-exempt non-profit is still pending, they are approved by the education department to operate in New York City schools. The charity is the brainchild of Ted Wender, who runs his family’s foundation along with his sister Jill Wender-Spitz. “The bands Wender put together and played in as a pre-teen and a teenager changed the course of his life and were a highlight of his childhood,” said Lisa Wixon, the CWB’s public relations director and a board member. “His dream was to give that gift to other children who didn’t have the access and opportunities he had.”

And with budget cuts affecting arts programming citywide, schools in low-income areas often have trouble providing those experiences.

“If you ask the education department for 10 things, you might get three, and it’s likely not relevant to what you’re doing,” Mok said, although he doesn’t fault them for a lack of resources. According to the CWB, at PS 137, 95 percent of the students come from financially struggling families, so the parents are unable to provide the missing funds themselves. “I’ve already put money into this myself, but there’s only so much you can do out-of-pocket,” the third-year teacher added.

So in order to keep real programming in the school, Mok has brought together a patchwork of people and organizations for support. Currently, the school receives assistance from Little Kids Rock, Hey Joe Guitar, and Carnegie Hall Link Up.

“If it wasn’t for these different people, it would be very difficult to teach the kids,” he said.

To help bring this program to PS 137, donate to the CWB.