Behringer Donates 1500 Synths to Impact Kids’ Lives Through Music
Big up to audio equipment company Behringer for believing in positive change through music. The German company recently donated 1500 synths and headphones to over 100 charities dedicated to the musical education of less fortunate kids around the world. Through the Playing For Change Foundation, some of the Behringer equipment has landed in Rwanda.
“We’re so happy to see our synths now in the hands of kids and students in Rwanda,” said Behringer. “The Playing For Change Foundation is a wonderful charity organisation, which we highly recommend.”
Philanthropic Move
Behringer was applauded after posting a photo of 10 Rwandan students each bent over an MS-1 synth on social media. Dubai-based DJ and producer Rohan Nunes described Behringer’s philanthropic move as “the best thing any music company has ever done”.
“This is great to see,” said Krystian Seibert. “As a person whose professional work focuses on philanthropy and who really loves synths, I really hope this is the beginning of a big ongoing commitment by Behringer to really ramp up corporate philanthropy.”
Next Generation
Praising Behringer, Arthur Kamatari commented: “I’ve rarely seen a greater move done by a company than this one. Giving young African, especially Rwandan, people an opportunity to discover the beautiful and expanding world of electronic music is just pure philanthropy. With moves like that, you help build the next generation of smart creative minds wherever the borders.”
Steven Southall also nailed it, writing: “There’s no point being successful if you don’t share that success.”
Positive Impact
The Playing For Change Foundation has positively impacted more than 40,000 lives – including 3000 youths – since its formation in 2007. Today, the foundation operates 15 music programmes in 11 countries. The charity employs more than 200 staff, teachers and community leaders across programme locations in Mali, Morocco, Ghana, Rwanda, South Africa, Nepal, Bangladesh, Thailand, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina.
Benefits
Research shows that learning music benefits kids, teens and adults in a number of ways. “Music tunes your listening skills, sharpens your mental acuity and boosts language skills,” said Nina Kraus, of Northwest University, Illinois. “In children, making music speeds up brain development. In older adults, making music mitigates age-related declines in sound processing.”
“A common argument against daily music education is that it takes time away from teaching fundamentals such as reading and math. But evidence shows that music training actually improves children’s reading and math skills, suggesting that it can pay dividends in more traditional academic domains.”
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