Wolfgang Van Halen donates $100,000 to schools for purchasing more musical instruments

Wolfgang Van Halen wants to invest in the upcoming generation of musicians and to do that, he has donated $100,000 donation to a new charity program that will help schools that need musical instruments, reports Guitar World. The donation made by Wolfgang and the Van Halen Family is in collaboration with Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation. They have come together to launch a new “Adopt a School” program.

This non-profit bridges the gap between financially strapped schools and donors eager to champion music education. The money donated by Van Halen will be used to kickstart the program and distribute a $100,000 donation amount to the first 100 schools. Moreover, Wolfgang’s interest in philanthropy shows how he is following his father, Eddie, who was also a massive supporter of the charity. He used to donate to help young musicians across the US develop their skills and knowledge while playing the instruments well.

Van Halen said, “Music has been a huge part of my life, and it is our family’s great pleasure to help support music education programs and bring the gift of music to students across the country,” per Good News Network. “Music education has proven to be a huge contributor toward a student’s success in school and life.” While talking about the organization’s goals, CEO Tricia Williams said, “Our mission is to make sure there is an instrument in the hands of every student who needs and wants one. By increasing schools’ inventories of quality, playable instruments, music teachers will have the tools they need to deliver a quality music education to students who want to learn.”

The idea of the program came after a nationwide survey of public school music teachers. It was conducted by the foundation, which found that 68% had experience turning down students due to a lack of instruments. Moreover, 68% of the 225 schools that were part of the survey said students played unrepairable instruments, making it difficult for them to advance in the field. A study published by Taylor and Francis has shown that music classes promote academic excellence and other positive outcomes in school. This research conducted in Finland showed increased quality of life scores for students compared to other non-academic classes like sports and visual arts, which didn’t have the same effect.

Talking about the recent performance to PEOPLE at the Oscars this year, the musician and his wife compared the event to their wedding day. Van Halen said, “I think it was more stressful getting ready today.” He added, “I'm happy to be here, very happy to be part of this and support my buddy Mark [Ronson, soundtrack producer].” The duo had married at their Los Angeles home last fall. The musician performed "Barbie's" anthem, “I'm Just Ken," along with nominee Ryan Gosling and fellow guitarist Slash.

Van Halen was also joined by his mother, Valerie Bertinelli, who was proud that her son was performing. She said, "I'm excited! I'm here to support Wolfie, the Barbie movie because Wolfie's all throughout it. He did a lot of work with [soundtrack producer] Mark [Ronson] for two days, and I'm really proud of him, so I want to support him." "And the movie was kickass, so we're just going to say that." Bertinelli added that she gets a little thrill every time she watches the "Barbie" movie. "It's so fun because I watch the movie and I hear Wolfie all throughout the chase scene, I hear Wolfie all throughout the Ken fight scene, and it's just like, 'That's my boy!'"