I was finally given the opportunity to see the Traveling Guitar Foundation in person. This non profit has donated guitars and percussion and a detailed curriculum to many other schools in this school district. The assembly they put on for the students is above and beyond what I expected. The interaction with the students during the performance is inspiring. The musical equipment that they donate to the schools are as professional as can be. Damon Marks is a great motivational speaker and musician all around, and the talent he brings along with the foundation are very professional in all ways. I hope to see this foundation around for a very long time..
I've had the opportunity to witness what Damon Marks and the Traveling Guitar Foundation have been doing for the kids and their schools..not only is he an inspiration for these young musicians but also for us adults that forgot how music can change your life.
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I think what Damon Marks has done for the children of Elizabeth is wonderful! EVERY child deserves to not only be given an education but also be exposed to the gift of music. This is a basic form of expression and it is being lost on a generation of children! Music has saved many of us. It is a safe place to express yourself, find solitude, express joy and sadness. Damon has given a selfless gift back to the children of his hometown through his foundation. As more and more funding is being cut from the arts, it's nice to see someone who understands it's importance, especially in the inner city, and is willing to do something to stop this unfortunate trend. BRAVO Damon!
I've been a piano teacher for many years. What Damon Marks has done with Traveling Guitar in giving music, is truly a wonderful charity.
I think what the Traveling Guitar Foundation is doing to help kids is just wonderful! They give children a second chance. Music has the power to save people from not so wonderful environments and it empowers them to grow, to be better everyday and it also keeps them away from trouble.
I come from a third world country, Venezuela, and I know many people whose lives where saved from drugs and poverty through learning music and developing a career as a classical musicians in the well known National Orchestras from Venezuela with "El Sistema".
I truly believe, that The Traveling Guitar Foundation is making a difference in those children's life! I highly recommend everyone who can help them to contribute any way they can so they can keep on changing lives with beautiful music!
The Treveling Guitar Foundation is AMAZING! I've known Damon Marks since high school and to see his passion for music touch so many kids is a beautiful thing! Keeping the education of music alive in our schools is so important. This foundation gives back in so many great ways for these kids!
What TGF has done for the public schools has gone above and beyond expectations. The children are really receptive to this positive influence that they would not have otherwise receive. What Damon Marks is doing is such a great thing that we all should take a cue from.
Damon's contributions to my community through the Traveling Guitar Foundation has been amazing. I recently attended a Traveling Guitar Foundations school event and can say the instruments they have donated are of extremely professional quality and their work with the students is above and beyond.
What a great way to give back. With music education so quick to be cut from school programs, if's heart warming to find an organization willing to invest in kids and music. Keep up the good work Damon!!!
Damon is doing a terrific job with the Traveling Guitar Foundation, providing musical instruments to kids in need. This is especially important right now, with looming budget cuts, arts are one of the first programs to get cut. Damon and TGF are keeping hope alive for those kids in danger of losing possibly the only thing that they look forward to in school, sometimes their music their music is their only outlet, their only form of self expression, their only reason for going to school and their other classes in the first place. Keep up the great work with TGF, Damon!
Damon is not only a talented artist. But he is also a wonderful human being. The work he does with his Traveling Guitar Foundation is inspirational!
What Damon Marks is doing is ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL! Music has been a life saver for my 19 year old daughter, and if not for the music program in her school I am not sure she would have graduated. The sad thing is that we are dependent on programs such as this to keep such a fundamental right to the arts alive in our public school system. More artists need to take Damon's approach and draw some much needed attention to this area.
As a teacher in the public school system, I understand the importance of keeping our music curriculum alive especially when the focus lately seems to be only on academics. Seeing the Traveling Guitar foundation in action left me speechless. Damon's energy and passion in what he does was clearly visible in his presentation. The smiles and the excitement of the students were contagious. They were clearly thrilled with being able to "Jam" with great musicians and use their new gifted guitars. These students would probably never have the opportunity to explore this if it wasn't for the great work of The Traveling Guitar Foundation. It's truly a gift to our kids and schools! Thank you Damon for the wonderful work and joy you bring to our kids!
I've been donating to the traveling guitar foundation for years and have even attended a school event. Before I ever do anything for a non profit I always look into them completely, the reviews below are a complete scam, they actually sound like a jealous x girlfriend. There a 501C3, everything is public knowledge, even the tax returns.. I met Damon Marks at the event and he was very enthusiastic about the foundation and helping children.. Be careful of what others say, it's a shame people resort to lies to hurt such a great cause.
I originally wrote a positive review for this organization and then I started to question their integrity after many things happened that I was not feeling good about. I won't go into the details but rather just implore people who want to support an organization to really look into what they do and who is in charge and where the money is ACTUALLY going. Don't just read their website and take them for their word. Read up on them, check sites like this one as well as other non profit websites that allow others to give feedback who have dealt with the organization in the past.
ASK QUESTIONS. Be 100% sure of where your donation is going and find out if the founder is true to his/her word.
I not only gave this organization a cash donation, but items for them to make money on, as well as constant social media sound bites on Twitter, G+ and Facebook. In the end, I felt taken. I've tried to contact Damon and others in the organization only to be ignored. It's a great learning experience for me and I hope others will learn before they give to TGF as well.
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I learned of the Traveling Guitar Foundation through Google+. As an artist and wife of a musician, I was immediately drawn to their wonderful gift of music education in schools. I was fortunate enough to be asked to donate artwork for a fundraiser of theirs in Los Angeles just this past summer. What a lovely group of people to meet! They are incredibly passionate about their cause and they give not only with their time and money, but most importantly, with their hearts. I donated 10% of my sales of my very first art show to them last spring and I continue to offer 10% of my sales on Fine Art America. What they do is so very important for our next generation, but also for the teachers and the schools who obviously benefit from their contributions and are able to see these kids shine. Bravo to TGF! They are an amazing group!
The Traveling Guitar Foundation fills an important void in today's schools that are cutting back on music education. Matt Gibson is a veteran and we love it how he's using his platform for kids and veterans alike...
I just found out about this nonprofit and it sounds great! I am always interested on helping musicians or people that are interested on music. This foundation really sounds like it is needed on many places.
I started out as a volunteer and now I am a member of the Board of Directors. Traveling Guitar Foundation is an AMAZING organization! We have encouraged so many kids, teens and young adults to develop their passion for music! Times are tough! The arts are getting cut from the schools due to financial constraints. Traveling Guitar is here to make sure that our youth have an outlet in music and to encourage them to pursue their dreams and develop their talents. I am HONORED to be a part of such an amazing organization!
When you realize what an impact music has on the development of a child's mind, you have to do everything possible to keep the art alive. Music should be a part of every child's learning experience - they should at least have the chance to hear it, feel it and learn it. Supporting this foundation is one of the best ways to make it happen.
They are truly Earth Angels giving of themselves to raise hope and love for other generations yet to be . The energy of music that is shared is out of their hearts infinitely .
I am a proud donor. This nonprofit is my one of my favorites. I consider myself very lucky to have seen a performance at a school where I worked a few years ago. Their mission is simple but a powerful one: Keep the arts in schools.
I have worked with the Traveling Guitar Foundation on their fundraising efforts and am continually taken back by the impact they have on children and the education that they have for their mission. Damon Marks is a true believer in the cause and he is surrounded by many other great people who all willingly give their time to be a part of this great cause.
The Traveling Guitar Foundation is a wonderful organization. Damon Marks and his team presented a full-on rock concert to our packed auditorium of 1000+ high school students and kids were thrilled. How often do they get treated to a full concert like this? Really, hardly ever! Add to this the gift of guitars and equipment, the start of our contemporay music/"School of Rock" program, and you have an impact from TGF that will make a difference for years to come! Dr. Edward Trimis, Principal, Verdugo Hills High School.
Amazing foundation..inspirational. Both my children (elementary and middle school) benefited from this program! Thank you!
This foundation is what is needed today with all that is happening to the arts in our schools with the cutting of these programs and their demands on the scores of these kids. It's funny how the arts up kids scores and this is the first thing they cut. The guitars that they donate are the symbol of what needs to be fixed in our schools and I believe whatever school receives these guitars should have a support team pressuring these schools to use them, thats what I'm doing. Damon deserves props for creating this foundation – Thank you!!!!
I work at Apperson Street School and the Traveling Guitar Foundation came to our school last year. The assembly they presented was awesome. They inspired so many of our students and they donated guitars to our school. This organization is extraordinary.
The traveling guitar is a great foundation that helps keep music education in schoold by providing guitars to an underprivileged school in the U S A. They also do an awesome presentation and show for the school on the day of the donation. I have been to many of the events and its always been an awesome experience and always the kids at the schools love it :) .
The Foundation came to my son's Elementary School and donated tons of musical equipment! Damon Marks is great with the Kids. He got the kids up to play guitar! Thanks to TRAVELING GUITAR FOUNDATION, Damon Marks and ESP Guitars for your generous support of helping to keep the arts in Public School!
I love the way The Traveling Guitar Foundation gives back to the community. They put on great performances for the children at schools & donate instruments.
Simply Amazing! To see the children in the schools, so amazed. They had smiles from ear to ear. It was an up close and personal concert for the kids. I truely believe that all of our schools deserve to have TGF come to there schools. This is a wonderful moment in time that stood still for me. This is a story that I will be telling to everyone for the rest of my life. To see Damon Marks allow a kids hold his guitar and play infront of their peers was a tear jerker moment for me. I will continue to vounteer for life.
The Traveling Guitar Foundation is an amazing program. It brings music to the schools in a way that is unique and amazing. The concept and the delivery is amazing. Arts and music are being cut from programs. Music is something we must keep in the schools. The Traveling Guitar Foundation does this. I have watched Founder Damon Marks firsthand deliver the program to the schools. The children love the program. It draws them in and keeps them interested.