Berks County Community Foundation is not the only grantmaking organization in the community and certainly not the oldest. This year, we’re noting the centennial anniversaries of two of our great colleague organizations whose service to, and impact on, Berks County’s quality of life predates ours by 68 years.
In 1926, a financial crisis threatened the future of some local music groups, including the fledgling Reading Symphony Orchestra. A group of fifteen local people gathered to create the Reading Musical Foundation (RMF) to generate funding to ensure the sustainability of music offerings in the community. For a century, the organization has been a key funder for music organizations like the Symphony, the Reading Choral Society, and many more.
What began as a mission to sustain a handful of cultural institutions evolved into something much larger. In 1971, RMF began awarding scholarships, which is a central function of the organization today. They work to make sure that Berks County students with talent have an opportunity to develop their skills, regardless of their ability to pay.
Their “Operation Replay” accepts gifts of used musical instruments and pairs them with children who can’t afford to purchase them. This gives kids a head start in music education that would otherwise not be available to them.
RMF’s uniquely talented president, Keri Shulz, is also a fierce advocate for music education in the public schools. You don’t need to be around Shulz for very long before she’ll remind you that children who take music lessons perform better academically by almost any measure. And if you’re a school board that’s even thinking about cutting the marching band budget, you’ll hear from her and a cadre of volunteers.
At the Community Foundation, we feel fortunate to have RMF as a colleague organization. Their depth of knowledge and breadth of connections have often been a great asset to our donors. And, we’re aware that they’re unique. In thirty-two years, I’ve not found another community with an organization that operates as RMF does. Berks County is lucky to have such an advocate.
Congratulations to Reading Musical Foundation on 100 years of leadership and unwavering commitment to the musical life of Berks County. It’s a legacy that can be heard in every performance, every lesson, every scholarship recipient, and every young musician whose life has been changed by the gift of music.
Here’s to the next century of making music possible.
Next week: We celebrate a century of The Wyomissing Foundation.
