Home > Newsroom > Press Releases
CVS Caremark Charitable Trust and Berklee College of Music
give the gift of music therapy to two local hospitals
The donation is part of the CVS Caremark Charitable
Trust’s $3.3 million in 72 grants
Boston, MA – Berklee College of Music announced today that it has received a $42,000 grant from the CVS Caremark Charitable Trust, the private foundation created by CVS Caremark Corporation, whose mission is to provide funding for health care, education and community involvement initiatives in CVS Caremark communities. Berklee College of Music was one of 72 organizations selected from a pool of 660 applicants to receive an individual or multi-year grant.
The Music Therapy Institute (MTI) at Berklee College of Music serves healthcare, education and arts organizations by providing music therapy to a wide variety of agencies. In music therapy, children demonstrate their abilities and talents, as opposed to their incapacities. By writing and singing songs, and playing simple instruments, they exercise their minds and bodies while they master new skills, express their emotions, and learn about one another. Music motivates young people to learn and to grow, and it teaches them how to cope with the obstacles in their lives.
This grant from CVS will support the expansion of music therapy programs at two partner organizations: Franciscan Hospital for Children and Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center. Thanks to this support, music therapy programs at both organizations will be expanded to reach more children.
“We have a model that provides true benefit for all – value added services for clients at our partner organizations and excellent clinical training opportunities for music therapy students,” said Brenda Stevens Ross, Manager of the Music Therapy Institute at the college. “The MTI creates a collaborative community that uses knowledge, information, financial and clinical resources more effectively. We are thrilled to expand the institute’s reach through this grant from CVS. This funding will provide significant increases in the number of program hours resulting in more children being served at these two facilities.”
“We’ve seen children with special needs make great strides developmentally as a result of music therapy,” said Grace Rechisky, lead teacher in the Hyman Novack Medical Day Care Center at Franciscan Hospital for Children. “We look forward to serving even more kids in the future.”
“Music is a powerful medium that speaks to us all,” said Ginny Finn, director of Child Life Services at Floating Hospital. “To have the guidance and expertise of a music therapist has been a real advantage for our patients as well as a learning experience for our staff. The expansion of the program moves us closer to music therapy becoming an integral part of the healing process at Floating Hospital.
“In today’s challenging economy, it’s more important than ever to support organizations that truly make a difference in the lives of children and families,” said Eileen Howard Boone, Vice President, CVS Caremark Charitable Trust. “The CVS Caremark Charitable Trust is pleased to recognize Berklee College of Music for truly making an impact in the communities we serve through their music therapy program, and we look forward to working with them in the year ahead.”
The CVS Caremark Charitable Trust’s grant to Berklee College of Music is part of $3.3 million in grants awarded to organizations across the country in 2010. A number of these grants align with CVS Caremark All Kids Can, the company’s signature philanthropic program focused on supporting children with disabilities by raising awareness about inclusion, creating greater opportunities for physical activity and play, and providing access to medical rehabilitation and related services.
Other CVS Caremark Charitable Trust grants provide support for medical services for the uninsured, grants to pharmacy schools, scholarships for the children of CVS Caremark colleagues and funding for community organizations for which CVS Caremark colleagues act as volunteers.
About Berklee College of Music:
Berklee College of Music was founded on the revolutionary principle that the best way to prepare students for careers in music was through the study and practice of contemporary music. For over 65 years, the college has evolved constantly to reflect the state of the art music and the music business. With over a dozen performances and nonperformance majors, a diverse and talented student body representing over 70 countries, and a music industry “who’s who” of alumni, Berklee is the world’s premier learning lab for the music of today – and tomorrow.
About the CVS Caremark Charitable Trust
The CVS Caremark Charitable Trust, Inc. is a private foundation created by CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE: CVS). CVS Caremark is the largest provider of prescriptions and related health care services in the nation. The Trust's mission is to provide funding for health care, education and community involvement initiatives in CVS Caremark communities. General information about CVS Caremark is available through the Investor Relations portion of the Company's Web site at http://investor.cvs.com/, or through the Web site's press room at www.cvs.com/pressroom.