Sweetwater Sound Founder Chuck Surack is putting his money where his mouth is, at least when it comes to his love of music.
Surack and his wife, Lisa, donated $500,000 to the Fort Wayne Community Schools Foundation Wednesday afternoon, kicking off a $3-million fundraising campaign for the “B Instrumental” program, which provides musical instruments to students in middle schools that can be used until they graduate from high school.
Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry lauded the donation, saying the program has provided “hundreds of instruments and hours of instruction to area students.”
The “B Instrumental” program launched two years ago, with a goal of providing 3,300 instruments to students, according to Fort Wayne’s NBC.
A successful campaign raising $3 million will allow the foundation to purchase 4,000 to 5,000 instruments over 12 years, as well as cover refurbishing and repairs. The couple also donated 100 musical instruments, which were presented at today’s media event at North Side High School.
FWCS Superintendent Dr. Wendy Robinson said the district has committed $1.5 million, in addition to the $3 million campaign, to the program.
