The Applegate Project Joined with Artistic Journeys

The Applegate Project was started through the efforts of Mr. Michael Applegate, and was originally named the Applegate Music Foundation.  It was the hope of Mr. Applegate that the foundation would eventually attain non-profit status and thereby continue in a larger way the work he had already accomplished toward that end.  Because his efforts and mission reflect the goals of Artistic Journeys, the decision was made on his part to request that he join his considerable forces with those of Artistic Journeys in 2003.  The board of directors of Artistic Journeys was amazed to see the dedication of this man and to learn how very much he had accomplished before we began working together.

Immediate benefits have come from the merging of the Applegate resources with those of Artistic Journeys.  The Applegate Project provided Artistic Journeys with additional instruments, which could be used for students needing them, and Artistic Journeys has provided Mr. Applegate with the extra human resources needed to inventory instruments, provide instrument insurance, and help to administer his existing program within the guidelines of a non-profit organization and its requirements.

Artistic Journeys has shared Mr. Applegate’s goals and mission, even though we were working apart.  Now that we are working together, we are thrilled with the new opportunities that this growth has provided.  We are all excited about the new possibilities that The Applegate Project has brought to us.  We are also very aware of the great responsibilities of our promise to Mr. Applegate: namely that we would ensure that his work would continue after him, and that his dream of giving the gift of music to music students would continue through our efforts in The Applegate Project.

Goals and Guidelines of the Applegate Project

The Project, begun primarily in the Norwalk La Mirada Unified School District, has expanded to include the contact areas of Artistic Journeys, including the geographic region of the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District and adjoining communities.

We attempt to make instruments available whenever possible.  Goals include focus on middle schools in an attempt to make music an alternative to after-school trouble, such as gangs. 

The following is a list of need-based choices for consideration of eligibility for an instrument loan:

1. A child of a single-parent family.
2. A foster child.
3. Multiple band students in a family.
4. Any child on a school lunch program.
5. Every child is considered, with the above criteria receiving first preference.

We have both high school and college students using project instruments.  Middle-school children are a first focus though, as we are mindful of the crucial age where we have the possibility to stop future trouble.

Michael Applegate's Personal Statement

My love of music came from my father, Wayne A. Applegate.  His most impressive collection of several hundred 78 RPM big band records still exists.  He also had a very good voice and could hit all those low notes in the song "Sailor, Beware."

I was part of the World War II effort, born August 19, 1943, in Long Beach, California, and grew up listening to all the big band records every Friday night.  After a short time playing the accordion, I pretty much kept to listening to the music instead of trying to play it.

My younger brother Dennis also had a great voice and played drums in a garage band that were so popular in the 60’s.  I moved on to include classical music in my appreciation of big band and jazz.

My current musical endeavor is the result of my being Santa Claus.  I have been Santa for about 25 years and have volunteered most of my time to children’s charities.  A young boy came and asked me for a trumpet for Christmas.  I knew the family and knew he was taking his older sister’s clarinet and trying to play it without permission.  He was an unruly child and reminded me of my son, who was saved by music.  On Christmas Day, Santa along with my son, Ken, went to his house and presented the boy with a nice shiny trumpet and a bottle of valve oil.  Ken showed him how to oil the valves and the basics of the trumpet.  That was four years ago and the boy is still in the school music program today, although not playing the trumpet.

That year I also saw the closing of the Christmas house in La Mirada that I had been donating my time as Santa for the last seven years.  A friend called asking me to help her out by being Santa for her employer’s business.  I became an independent contracting Santa at the outrageous price of  $75.00 an hour.

For the last four years, I have been Santa around Southern California.  I spent three years at the Block at Orange, and two years as the Media Santa at Ontario Mills Mall.  Anaheim Plaza Mall has also been my home for three years.  The result was a cash flow of three to four thousand dollars for my foundation.

I started buying instruments on eBay and repairing them myself.  I took five semesters of Band and Oratorical Instrument Repair at Orange Coast College.  I then loaned them out to middle-school kids who could not afford to rent or buy one.  Mr. Ernie Del Fante, of Benton Middle School was my partner in setting up the foundation.  First student instrument awards went to foster children, single parent families, any child on a lunch program, and last but not least multiple band students in a family.

With over 50 instruments in the foundation now, we will help anyone, but the above list still gets the instruments first.  The foundation has launched a music composition contest in the Norwalk La Mirada School District.  This is to foster the love of composition in the young students.  We have also started fundraising in the form of an adopt-an-instrument program.  This will help to offset the high cost of instrument repairs, as I can no longer do all the repairs.  It will also be used to purchase music for the schools to play.

In closing, this is where we are today, and we are looking forward to the future under the Artistic Journeys banner.

Artistic Journeys is very grateful to Mr. Applegate and proud to have The Applegate Project under its umbrella.