''Keep Music Alive in Our Schools'' Grant Program to Donate $200,000 in Musical Instruments to 31 Bay Area Schools

Business Wire, March 12, 2002

News Editors/Education Writers

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 12, 2002

Now in Its Fourth Year, Keep Music Alive has Donated $1 Million

in Instruments to 111 Schools Across the Bay Area

McDonald's Keep Music Alive In Our Schools, a fourth-year partnership between Northern California McDonald's, the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Bay Area and The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation, today announced it will donate musical instruments valued at $200,000 to 31 Bay Area elementary and middle schools in 2002.

This year marks a significant milestone for the Keep Music Alive In Our Schools program. In only four years, the program has donated 3,500 instruments valued at $1 million to 111 schools across the Bay Area. For a full list of grant recipients including this year's winners, visit www.rmhcbayarea.com.

Keep Music Alive In Our Schools does exactly as its name suggests; it revives music education in local communities by donating instruments to schools in need. Although music education is directly associated with higher test scores, lower dropout rates and improved motor skills, music departments throughout Northern California suffer from shrinking budgets and a lack of suitable equipment. In an effort to revitalize music education, Northern California McDonald's owner/operators, Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Bay Area and the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation developed Keep Music Alive In Our Schools.

"We're committed to improving the lives of children throughout Northern California, and a well-rounded education is a top priority," said Scott Rodrick, President, Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Bay Area. "We are strong believers in the benefits of music education and are proud to partner with our teachers to give the gift of music."

Every October, all public elementary and middle schools throughout Northern California McDonald's 15-county region are invited to apply for instrument grants through Keep Music Alive in Our Schools. The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation Grant Committee, which is comprised of musicians, educators, instrument manufacturers and retailers, review the applications and select the final grant recipients based on careful consideration of each applicant's needs and music program structure.

This Spring, McDonald's owner operators, representatives from the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Bay Area and The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation, along with Ronald McDonald himself, will personally deliver the new instruments to selected schools.

"Growing up in the Mancini household, my childhood was filled with music, and I am now committed to seeing that the benefits of music-making are accessible to all children," said Felice Mancini, executive director of The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation and daughter of famed composer Henry Mancini. "The Keep Music Alive in Our Schools program will help us achieve this goal in Northern California."

About Northern California McDonald's

The Northern California McDonald's Cooperative is made up of the individuals who own and operate local McDonald's restaurants in the Greater Bay Area(a). This cooperative of owner/operators is dedicated to building stronger, safer communities through such programs as "Keep Music Alive in Our Schools." Other community building programs include McDonald's Thanksgiving Breakfast, a program that provides free breakfast for disadvantaged children and their families on Thanksgiving morning, as well as the efforts of Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Bay Area and the Ronald McDonald Houses of San Francisco and Palo Alto.

About Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Bay Area

Through its network of local charities serving 27 countries, Ronald McDonald House Charities provides comfort and care to children and families and provides support to Ronald McDonald Houses and the Ronald McDonald Children's Hospital. In addition, the charity provides grants to a number of non-profit children's organizations. To date, Ronald McDonald House Charities' U.S. body and its global network of local charities has awarded nearly $200 million in grants to children's programs worldwide. Locally, RMHCBA has donated more than $3 million to nonprofit children's organizations since its inception in 1988. Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Bay Area is the local chapter that adopted McDonald's "Keep Music Alive in Our Schools" program.

About The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation

Inspired by his work on the 1995 hit motion picture, Mr. Holland's Opus, Grammy Award-winning composer Michael Kamen, who composed the film's score, established The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation in 1996. The foundation's mission is to breathe life back into the nation's declining school music programs. The foundation is accomplishing this goal by partnering with businesses, schools and communities to provide new and refurbished musical instruments to qualified schools and individual students.

Note (a): The 15 counties included in the Northern California McDonald's region are: Alameda, Contra Costa, Humboldt, Lake, Napa, Marin, Mendocino, Monterey, San Benito, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano and Sonoma.