Founded in the Fall of 2013 by Annie Palomino, BandWith Chicago is a Chicago-based non-profit organization whose mission is to promote wellness for Chicago youth through lasting access to high quality performing arts instruction. Annie launched BandWith when the band program was dropped from LEARN Campbell Charter School in East Garfield Park due to budget cuts. Starting a nonprofit allowed Annie to continue providing free music instruction within LEARN Charter, and expand into after school programming.
Since our founding, BandWith has connected over 700 young people, ages 5-21, with outstanding arts instructors and mentors, and provided them with the performance opportunities and support they need to be successful. In a moment when youth are growing more isolated, making music allows immediate and long-term connection with others. We see this connectedness every day in our band, drumline, choral and dance ensembles.
In fulfillment of our commitment to our community, BandWith has purchased a neglected building in East Garfield Park—just down the street from LEARN—and is in the process of transforming it into a state-of-the-art Performing Arts Center, set to open by the end of 2025. We envision a space for many more students to grow as people and as performers, for young adults to receive job-training and meaningful employment, for the community to gather and experience art.
With your generosity, BandWith can continue to support free dance, drumline, sound engineering, instrumental and choral ensemble programs, grow and develop new initiatives and ultimately provide more community members with high quality music education.
On behalf of all of the students currently receiving music education through BandWith, we are grateful for your gift of music!
To learn more about the impact your investment has on our programs, please do not hesitate to reach out to our
Executive Director, Annie Palomino, at
annie@bandwithchicago.net.
