JOY is a kindergartener playing the violin.

Hello Friends of JOY!

It feels like only yesterday that I wrote to you all last about our goals for the new year for JOY! So much has grown in our corner of Yamhill County and I am happy to share with you the wonderful things we have been up to since January.

• Vaccinations: Our JOY staff has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 since late April, which has been encouraging for our team and the families we serve! Hooray!

• Fundraising: One of our families, who co-owns Los Kopitos in Dundee, hosted an outdoor fundraiser concert and raffle night on Cinco de Mayo which raised just under $1000 for JOY. Wow! We also recently co-hosted our first annual Spring Bazaar on May 22nd and have been running an ongoing BottleDrop fundraiser. We’re excited about what these last few months have brought and are truly grateful for the support our families bring to our program!

• Newberg Schools’ transition to Hybrid Learning: In March, Newberg Schools began transitioning out of online learning into a “Hybrid Model,” which means students come to school 4 days a week for two hours either in the morning or the afternoon. We coordinated with the district to bring a bus from the school to the Friends Center where we rehearse with our After-School Orchestra. It has helped our kids and families be able to plug into orchestra where transportation has been a barrier-- especially those who benefit the most from in-person instruction. 

• End-of-Year Concerts: We have two concerts happening next week to ring in the end of the school year on June 3rd and June 4th. If you would like to join us for viewing one or both the concerts online, please read and fill out the RSVP form (linked below). Each concert starts at 4:30pm PST and would last about 20 minutes. 

• Summer Camp and the Next Year: We are currently planning for Summer Camp to happen at the end of August for our current JOY students! We’re also in the process of scheduling orchestra next fall at Edwards Elementary. We will have three ensembles in the After-School program next year and are excited to plan our return to Edwards to meet our Beginning Orchestra and our Kinder and First grade students doing In-School Violin for the first time. 

Of course, JOY is also continuing to make plans for further program growth in Yamhill County. We’re very excited about what the upcoming school year will hold for JOY and our community! We’re so lucky to be in a position of growth. 

As always, dear friend of JOY, thank you for your ongoing support of our project! 

With a JOY-ful Heart,

Danielle Howard Dye

Links:

• RSVP to our JOY Virtual Concerts Here! (GoogleForm)
• Yamhill Enrichment Society (YES) website