Joan Jett Honored by Little Kids Rock

What would you do if you’re an elementary school teacher and you watch funding for music education decrease year after year? If you are David Wish, you basically say “I’m mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore.”He initiated local after-school music classes, but soon realized the need was larger than his immediate area. At that point, he founded Little Kids Rock, a national not-for-profit organization which offers schoolchildren access to music classes and instruments at no cost.

Each year the organization holds a fundraiser honoring a “Rocker of the Year,” and at the same time showcases some of the extremely talented kids who have benefited from the Little Kids Rock program. This year Joan Jett was honored for her work with the ‘Modern Band” program which teaches kids different musical styles.

Produced by Maureen and Steven Van Zandt, the event held at Manhattan’s Hammerstein Ballroom, featured a silent and not-so silent auction, speeches detailing the work of the organization, an impressive list of rockers who stopped by to sing a song from Jett’s extensive catalog, and a group of kids who sang from their hearts and blew away the room with their talent. And even though the pros all brought their “A” game, this night was about the kids.

For the rest of the story please jump over to "Joan Jett Honored by Little Kids Rock" at Onstage Magazine.