FROM LEFT : NICK BUSKA ; COURTESY OF THE DRAKE GIVES

SAVING THE MUSIC Early on in the creation of The Drake Gives , founder Alec Glasser knew that he wanted to partner with Save The Music Foundation . “ What they do is exactly what we wanted to do , which is provide underserved school districts with money for instruction and instruments ,” he explains . Multiyear commitments from the school districts ensure that these programs reach a great number of students ; most recently , in January , The Drake Gives donated more than $ 200,000 to the Anaheim Union High School District , which will be allocated to grants for recording / production technology and mariachi as well as new instruments . While initial contributions to Save The Music went into a national fund , the majority of the donations ( over $ 500,000 in total ) have been directed to Los Angeles and Orange County campuses , with more than 7,000 children impacted in Southern California and 12,000 nationally . “ The great part is visiting the kids , visiting the schools , … [ and ] listening to their performances ,” Glasser adds .

A PROMISING PARTNERSHIP While education is of top priority to the team running The Drake Gives , the nonprofit is exploring how music can be used in other industries as well . Through a partnership with the University of California , Irvine , two programs have been established . First , last year , The Drake Gives implemented a $ 100,000 fund to support college students who plan to incorporate music in their future career paths ; in its inaugural year , nine recipients benefited from the scholarship . The nonprofit and UCI ’ s School of Social Ecology have also been hard at work creating the Center for the Power of Music , which will help inform people on the uses that sound can have in industries ranging from medicine , counseling or linguistics to sports , agriculture or marketing . “ The more people understand the power of music — which is why we ’ re doing what we ’ re doing at UCI — the more music education will expand ,” Glasser notes . The group , which will soon launch a website and plans to open

a physical center on the UCI campus in the future , will also create a directory of music-related nonprofits in the U . S . and plans to spread awareness on how community problems can be solved through sound .

COMMUNITY CONNECTION Each year , The Drake Gives hosts one or two fundraisers , typically held in the intimate space at The Drake restaurant — with plenty of live music , of course , and speakers from either the school districts with which the nonprofit is partnering ( through Save The Music ) or students affected by their programs . While these events net around $ 150,000 for the nonprofit , Glasser says what he loves most is bringing supporters together with the people their donations are impacting . “ There ’ s a lot of really upbeat energy ,” Glasser says . “… It really integrates the community into what we ’ re doing — getting people to understand the importance . That ’ s the real value of [ hosting these events ].” Don ’ t miss the next fundraiser at The Drake , slated for June 4 . g

LAGUNA BEACH MAGAZINE 27