Featured Member Profile

Scientific studies have shown how music enhances children’s early language, math and reasoning skills. Because my son and I enjoyed family music classes from the time he was nine months old until age 3-1/2, I know firsthand that play-oriented music classes provide young children with tremendous opportunities for growth, development, socialization and, most importantly, fun! Brenda Haynes certainly agrees, and with her fiscal sponsorship from Fractured Atlas, she’s made it possible for many kids in Central Missouri who are physically or emotionally challenged, financially or educationally disadvantaged, who have physical disabilities, or who have lost a parent to experience the joy of music with their families.

Brenda, please tell us about the mission of your Central Missouri Music Outreach Program.

Our mission is to provide funds to children in the community so that they may attend developmentally appropriate music and movement classes.

What is your background in music? How did music shape your life?

I come from a family of musicians and singers. I played piano and clarinet as a child, and sang in the choir and performed in plays throughout high school. I believe that music is an integral part of our daily life and can be used to help modify everything from mood to behavior to learning!

What prompted you to form an organization?

I was offering grants to families who had need, and found myself in a situation where I had more and more families asking for help! These are families who are committed to bringing their children to class and participating in home activities and I couldn’t turn them away, but I also couldn’t afford to pay out of pocket for materials for all of them. I had some families with businesses who provided scholarships, but not in the quantities that I was receiving requests for.

What services do you provide and how many children have you helped?

Children come to weekly classes where they socialize, bond with their parents, learn and have fun! I receive such wonderful feedback from parents about how the program has helped their children experience success, and has helped them as parents be better teachers to their children. I have served more than 50 children in the last three years. Many of them have been in the program for that entire time. These children may be experiencing economic hardship, a loss in the family, developmental delay, etc.

How important is music to early childhood development?

Early, positive, age-appropriate experiences with music can have a remarkable and research-proven impact on children’s learning, including language and literacy skills (e.g., vocabulary, comprehension, listening, expression); social and emotional development; mathematics and pattern-recognition skills; and even ability to plan, guide, and self-regulate behavior.

What has been your greatest success to date?

My greatest success has been seeing the amazing learning gains in the classroom. Children with severe disabilities are talking for the first time, taking steps when their parents were told they’d never walk… Also a huge success is seeing families break through barriers with their children, barriers that they had previous thought insurmountable.

What motivated you to become a member of Fractured Atlas? How has your membership helped you to achieve your goals?

I was looking for a way to bring in more funding to my program so that more children in need could participate, and my fiscal sponsorship now makes it possible for donations to our organization to be tax-deductible. Last year I was able to fund materials for more than 20 children.

What’s next on your professional horizon?

I would like to eventually turn my program into a non-for-profit organization, bringing programming into even more children’s lives.

For more information, visit the Central Missouri Music Outreach Program’s website.