Refuge

• Bring attention to our music program (SMHS Music Program) and highlight the positive impact our specific program and music in general can have on students/parents/community.
• Teach students the importance of advocacy inside/outside of music and potential for program to do good collectively. Show students that we can think beyond the competition field or the concert stage to do something important for the world around us.
• Educate our students, school, and community on conservation and a cause that is close to our hearts.
• Positively impact the world in a meaningful way!

One of our objectives was to raise awareness of SMHS Music Program by increasing visibility and appreciation within the school and broader community. By showcasing the achievements and contributions of the program and unique aspects of the curriculum, the show Refuge was the perfect platform for this endeavor. Refuge was created to bring awareness to 3 nonprofit conservation organizations in Costa Rica with the goal to educate our students and our audiences on the important causes those organizations are championing and raising funds for those programs. Refuge aimed to bring together the power of music and the power of collaboration to make a positive impact beyond our music program.

Another main objective was to teach students the importance of advocacy by instilling in them a sense of responsibility and empowerment and encouraging them to become advocates for causes they believe in, both within and outside of music. Our field show, Refuge, helped students understand the power of their voice and actions and the role that collective action can play in driving change. This gave our students a sense of empowerment, a realization that they are responsible for their actions, and that their actions have consequences. By connecting music education to larger social issues or causes, such as community service or conservation efforts, we expanded our program’s impact beyond music and taught our students that they can do the same. We reached beyond the competition field in order to make a broader impact on society, proving that music and community are a source for good. Demonstrating that music and musicians can play a meaningful role in the world, our band program addressed real-world challenges, created a sense of wider purpose, and fostered community engagement among students, staff, and audience members. Ultimately resulting in a collective sense of pride.

In order to ensure that our message and our cause made the biggest impact possible, we focused on targeting every possible audience we could reach. We deliberately selected performances throughout our county and neighboring counties in an effort to spread the word farther and wider knowing that the importance of our message was worth sharing! Focusing on a large audience aligned with every objective of our advocacy initiative.

• Nov – Attend development events and begin planning and conceptualizing the show
• May – Release field show concept and begin work on show design and advocacy plan through performances
• July – establishing contacts/relationships w/organizations in Costa Rica
• August – Band camp – zoom sessions with organization in Costa Rica, advertised potential donation methods, beach clean-up, contacts with local media
• September-November – Performances, Zevely Report, Constant advertisements and push for donations to Costa Rica Organizations

The four band directors, along with the field and visual staff (8 ppl) created the theme of the show, composed the music, designed the visuals, and connected our program with the 3 organizations in Costa Rica to bring the show and advocacy concept to life. This took countless hours, days, and months in preparation for the Fall marching season (similar to the time commitment required for preparation of any marching season with the additional time spent on coordinating with the nonprofit organizations). A core group of 12 roadies also spent innumerable hours building the props for the show that were specifically created to tie the concept of conservation to the music being performed on the field. One volunteer parent spent a minimum of 40 hours creating the artwork for the show backdrops and scrims. That artwork was also used as the show shirt for the season in addition to show themed posters sold to raise extra funds. The booster board, comprised of 10 parents, also spent countless hours supporting this initiative (again, similar to the time commitment of any marching season). The webmaster, in particular, spent at least 60 hours creating a unique website highlighting the 3 organizations in Costa Rica and linking their websites on our platform in order to direct audiences to those site. The students in the program (approx 225) also spent countless hours promoting the show on social media and many of them organized a day-long bake sale to raise funds and awareness for the 3 organizations!

Entire field show production, including 2 giant QR codes revealed at the end of each performance hung from the drum major stands. The unique QR codes led back to our show website that were shown at every show, prompting our audiences to scan and leading them back to the site to find information on the 3 organizations.

Working closely with the 3 organizations in Costa Rica proved to be an invaluable resource. By connecting with the organizations directly, we tapped into their knowledge, expertise, and passion about each of their particular missions. They in turn, shared their knowledge, expertise, and passion with our students and families at the start of the season, motivating everyone to get behind Refuge and the cause.

• Website – our band website became a landing page that linked to the particular websites of each of the 3 organizations.
• Local media – TV
• Captive audiences – field shows
• School / district communications – Knight News
• T-shirts – not only did the show shirts display the beautiful images from the show backdrops but they also included the same QR code as was shown during the field show. Every time one of our students or families wore a show t-shirt was another advertising opportunity.

Our program used many marketing strategies to promote Refuge, starting with Zoom conversations with representatives from each of the organizations in Costa Rica to kick off the season. Those conversations allowed the students to get a closer look at the day to day operations behind each organization and gain a better understanding for their need in their particular area and the importance of their work. Once the students were excited and behind the cause, it was easy to begin spreading the word about the mission behind the field show, Refuge. We used every tool at our disposal to get our message out. We chose to perform and compete in shows throughout and beyond our county to get our message in front of a broader audience. Our website was a valuable marketing platform along with our school’s communications outlets and local media. Social media was also used as a tool to keep our supporters engaged and aware of our mission and our cause. Social media help us reach out to the most diverse audience possible and spread our message without geographical constraints. The QR codes that were shown at the end of every performance and printed on the show shirts also served to promote our initiative.

• Show Development $4,071.62
• Choreography (consultant) $1,000.00
• Music Licensing $740.00
• Equipment (durable/re-useable) $2,284.59
• Equipment Maintenance $781.63
• Props & Special Effects $12,005.22
• Music (Percussion) $1,000.00
• Color Guard Costumes $7,165.75
• Color Guard Flag Material/Poles/Silks $4,340.75
• Band Special Effect Costumes $210.29
• Administrative expenses $3750.00

One challenge we faced throughout our advocacy efforts was making the mission relevant to the students. When the idea was initially introduced, some students struggled to connect the importance of helping organizations so far away from their every day lives. Costa Rica is geographically distant and distinct and some questioned the connection with the mission of the field show to their daily lives. We overcame this obstacle by creating opportunities for students to volunteer to help local causes making a difference in their own backyard. For example, we contacted a local beach cleanup group and encouraged everyone in the program to participate. Many students chose to attend the beach cleanup! We also hosted a canned food drive to benefit a local food bank. These opportunities taught students about the positive impact of their actions, near and far.

A second obstacle we faced was the challenge of raising funds for 3 organizations while at the same time needing to raise funds for our own program. We overcame that by encouraging our students and families to spread the word about our field show and letting it speak for itself. We reminded our families of the need and importance of our program’s fundraising efforts and relied on community support to meet our internal goals.

Our advocacy initiative was highly effective. Some of the data supporting our success includes the total amount of money raised internally for each of the 3 organizations in Costa Rica. Specifically, through t-shirt sales, bake sales, and other fundraising efforts, each organization received $2,500.00. That does not include the amount of donations collected directly by the organizations themselves by the awareness generated at each of our performances. Other important data supporting our effectiveness is the increased number of visits, views, and clicks recorded on our website during and after every show where the QR code was presented. Our webmaster noted that after performance, the “traffic” on our website markedly increased. Another important data marker was provided by the Sloth Conservation Organization. They offer (symbolic) sloth adoptions as a means of raising awareness and funds. After introducing this particular program to our music program families, we learned that at least new sloths had been “adopted” by members of our community. While we were never able to quantify the amount of new supporters or money raised by each organization through our particular efforts, we know we made a difference.

Our advocacy initiative had an overall positive impact throughout our program and community. Never before had our program attempted to look beyond the competition field in such a way and the decision to do so will undoubtedly have lasting effects. We accomplished a collective sense of pride unique to any other year by focusing on a completely different mission. There is no doubt that Refuge is a show that will be remembered for a long time to come. Refuge’s effect on the students, staff, and community who participated in some way in this particular show, was something special.

Specifically, we met our objectives of bringing attention to our music program (SMHS Music Program) and highlighting the positive impact our specific program and music in general can have on students/parents/community. Through this initiative, we were able to educate our students, community, and audiences about conservation and a cause that is close to our hearts. This initiative also taught students, families, staff, and the community of the importance of advocacy inside/outside of music and potential for program to do good collectively. It showed participants that we are able to think beyond the competition field or the concert stage to do something important for the world around us and that we are capable of positively impacting the world in a meaningful way!

Start early. Don’t be afraid to reach out to organizations for help and connections. People want to help and are happy to connect, educate, and work with you. Think big and get the kids excited. There is great power in music and the community and more support than you would expect.

We were beyond pleased by the way our students, families, and community embraced this advocacy initiative! Once we knew we had the support we needed, it was easy to hit the ground running, implement our ideas and turns them into action.