Dee and Jimmy Haslam have committed $4.5 million toward ensuring that Cleveland will never lose the importance of its storied music history.
The Browns owners made donations to the Cleveland Orchestra, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Playhouse Square to help further expose the Northeast Ohio region to the world of music.
The Cleveland Orchestra will receive a $1 million donation that will go toward furthering its goal of bringing people of all ages closer to music. The orchestra hopes to build communities through music, remove barriers to participation and advocate for and help facilitate equitable access to comprehensive music education in schools.
"We love the opportunity to bring a world renowned music experience by The Cleveland Orchestra into the classroom," Dee Haslam said. "One Cleveland Orchestra Education program that we connect with especially is Mindful Music Moments, which exposes children daily to beautiful music by The Cleveland Orchestra, helping them focus and prepare for their day of work in the classroom and also give them tools that they can, ideally, utilize later in life in the form of mindfulness techniques. We are thrilled to be part of such a positive and productive way to help children start their day."
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will receive a $2.5 million donation from the Haslams that will support its education programs. The Rock Hall also established the Haslam Scholars Program that will provide free admission and expert classroom instruction to Cleveland Metropolitan School District students and Title 1 schools statewide.
"Eliminating barriers and providing equal access for admission to all the wonderful musical and educational elements within the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is important to our family," said Dee Haslam, who's also a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame board member. "We are excited to create the Haslam Scholars Program and help foster a deeper appreciation and understanding of music for students throughout the state of Ohio."
The Haslams also donated $1 million to the Disney Musicals in Schools program from Playhouse Square. The program is an outreach initiative developed by Disney Theatrical Group to create ongoing theater programs in local elementary schools. It will help keep the arts in schools and utilizes the unique world of musical theater to build positive relationships between students, faculty, staff, parents and the community.
"We have been fortunate to experience the wonderful performances by the Disney Musical in Schools program at Playhouse Square," Dee Haslam said. "It is so rewarding to see the confidence created and instilled within these youth participants and know how that will positively impact them later in life. To see how the family members are involved in the process, and the resulting camaraderie and team building that occurs is fantastic."
