Help Special Needs Drum Corps
Donation protected
We are leaving our GoFundMe page open for one more week to take part in the #DCIGivingChallenge . Any additional donations will allow our Corps to continue to exsist for people of all abilities, so we can show that anything is possible with heart, hard work and the desire to push one's self beyond any previously conceived limitations. Help our Corps continue to travel and perform at events around the globe, inspiring people by showing the world that music is for everyone!
On behalf of the entire FREE Players Drum & Bugle Corps, thank from the bottom of our hearts for helping us reach our initial $65,000 fundraising goal for travel expenses to Indianapolis IN! Because of your contributions we will now be making history this August at the DCI World Championships! As originally promised the entire $65,000 will be used to help cover travel expenses for our members, staff & nursing.
Now we are asking for everyone to help us one last time make a race to the finish to help us win the 2018 DCI Giving Challenge!
Brian Calhoun
FREE Players Drum & Bugle Corps Founder & Director
About FREE Players Drum & Bugle Corps
FREE Players Drum & Bugle Corps is the 1st differently abled (Special Needs) Drum & Bugle Corps, or Corps Style" Marching Band in the world! The Corps was established in 2010 by Brian Calhoun, a Senior Music Specialist at Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, Inc. (FREE) Theatre Arts Day Program in Old Bethpage NY, to provide new opportunities to program participants of all abilities, who are aspiring musicians, dancers, actors and athletes. The FREE Players Drum & Bugle Corps currently has 4 different sections (Drumline, Front Ensemble, Color Guard, Brass) as well as a Drum Major. There are also plans to include a 5th section, “Woodwinds” by late 2018.
Today the FREE Players Drum & Bugle Corps has over 70 members, ages 20 to 50 plus. All the members of the Corps have intellectual and physical disabilities. The purpose of the Corps is to focus on the members talents and abilities, not their disabilities. Our Corps hopes to inspire through each performance that anything is possible, with heart, hard work and the desire to achieve excellence by pushing one's self beyond any previously conceived limitations. The Corps wants to show that they share the same passion for the marching arts as their typical mainstream peers. We hope to continue to make history, alleviate prejudice, break down boundaries and demonstrate that anyone can communicate through the one universal language, MUSIC! The experience offers members artistic expression, job skills and life skills.
Since the Corps inception in 2010 we have made history on several occasions by traveling across the country to perform at world championship and regional championship events, most notably for, Walt Disney World, WGI Sport of the Arts, Drum Corps International, USBands and the NYC Columbus Day Parade. For the past several years the FREE Players Drum & Bugle Corps has also been very active in their local community by providing halftime entertainment for sporting events, as well as performing in parades, festivals, competitions and on stages, all across Long Island NY
To date the FREE Players Drum & Bugle Corps has been featured by over 100 media outlets around the world including, ABC, NBC, FOX and CBS TV affiliates all across the nation, as well as PIX 11 News, My9 NJ, News 12 Long Island, FIOS1 News and Push Pause.
Top tier newspapers such as the Washington Post, Seattle Times, Miami Herald, Minneapolis StarTribune and Newsday have all featured the Corps. The FREE Players Drum & Bugle Corps has also been featured by the Associated Press, USA Today and TIME.
If you would like to find out more information about this inspirational group, please contact:
Brian Calhoun
Senior Music Specialist
FREE Players Drum & Bugle Corps Director
Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, Inc. (FREE)
191 Bethpage/Sweet Hollow Road
Old Bethpage NY, 11804
(516)870-1600 Ext. 1801
Or you can visit us on our official Website and Social Media Pages.
Official Website
Facebook
YouTube
Instagram
Twitter
About Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, Inc. (FREE)
Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, Inc. (FREE) founded in 1977 and headquartered in Old Bethpage, benefits and proudly supports more than 4,000 individuals with intellectual disabilities, mental illness and traumatic brain injury. It is the mission of FREE to help individuals of all abilities realize their full potential. FREE provides a diverse array of supports and services including: housing, recovery services, transition to work, employment, day, community and family services, respite, crisis services, education and after-school support, primary and specialty health care and advocacy. For more information, please visit www.familyres.org.
About Drum Corps International
From modest beginnings more than three decades ago, Drum Corps International (DCI) has developed into a powerful, nonprofit, global youth activity with far-reaching artistic, educational and organizational influence. Through the annual DCI Tour and World Championships, Drum Corps International provides entertainment to millions through live performances and nationally-broadcast events. Drum Corps International is Marching Music’s Major League™.
DCI Mission Statement
Drum Corps International is a cooperative association of its member and participating organizations: We seek to promote and inspire unparalleled excellence
in music and performing arts throughout the world.
Touching lives around the world:
Drum Corps International delivers the message of “excellence in performance and in life” to more than 7.2 million young people, ages 13-22 involved in performing arts in the United States
Active participants in U.S.-based drum and bugle corps hail from more than 15 countries
The annual Drum Corps International Tour is made up of more than 100 events throughout North America
Each summer, some 400,000 fans attend live drum corps events
On behalf of the entire FREE Players Drum & Bugle Corps, thank from the bottom of our hearts for helping us reach our initial $65,000 fundraising goal for travel expenses to Indianapolis IN! Because of your contributions we will now be making history this August at the DCI World Championships! As originally promised the entire $65,000 will be used to help cover travel expenses for our members, staff & nursing.
Now we are asking for everyone to help us one last time make a race to the finish to help us win the 2018 DCI Giving Challenge!
Brian Calhoun
FREE Players Drum & Bugle Corps Founder & Director
About FREE Players Drum & Bugle Corps
FREE Players Drum & Bugle Corps is the 1st differently abled (Special Needs) Drum & Bugle Corps, or Corps Style" Marching Band in the world! The Corps was established in 2010 by Brian Calhoun, a Senior Music Specialist at Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, Inc. (FREE) Theatre Arts Day Program in Old Bethpage NY, to provide new opportunities to program participants of all abilities, who are aspiring musicians, dancers, actors and athletes. The FREE Players Drum & Bugle Corps currently has 4 different sections (Drumline, Front Ensemble, Color Guard, Brass) as well as a Drum Major. There are also plans to include a 5th section, “Woodwinds” by late 2018.
Today the FREE Players Drum & Bugle Corps has over 70 members, ages 20 to 50 plus. All the members of the Corps have intellectual and physical disabilities. The purpose of the Corps is to focus on the members talents and abilities, not their disabilities. Our Corps hopes to inspire through each performance that anything is possible, with heart, hard work and the desire to achieve excellence by pushing one's self beyond any previously conceived limitations. The Corps wants to show that they share the same passion for the marching arts as their typical mainstream peers. We hope to continue to make history, alleviate prejudice, break down boundaries and demonstrate that anyone can communicate through the one universal language, MUSIC! The experience offers members artistic expression, job skills and life skills.
Since the Corps inception in 2010 we have made history on several occasions by traveling across the country to perform at world championship and regional championship events, most notably for, Walt Disney World, WGI Sport of the Arts, Drum Corps International, USBands and the NYC Columbus Day Parade. For the past several years the FREE Players Drum & Bugle Corps has also been very active in their local community by providing halftime entertainment for sporting events, as well as performing in parades, festivals, competitions and on stages, all across Long Island NY
To date the FREE Players Drum & Bugle Corps has been featured by over 100 media outlets around the world including, ABC, NBC, FOX and CBS TV affiliates all across the nation, as well as PIX 11 News, My9 NJ, News 12 Long Island, FIOS1 News and Push Pause.
Top tier newspapers such as the Washington Post, Seattle Times, Miami Herald, Minneapolis StarTribune and Newsday have all featured the Corps. The FREE Players Drum & Bugle Corps has also been featured by the Associated Press, USA Today and TIME.
If you would like to find out more information about this inspirational group, please contact:
Brian Calhoun
Senior Music Specialist
FREE Players Drum & Bugle Corps Director
Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, Inc. (FREE)
191 Bethpage/Sweet Hollow Road
Old Bethpage NY, 11804
(516)870-1600 Ext. 1801
Or you can visit us on our official Website and Social Media Pages.
Official Website
YouTube
About Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, Inc. (FREE)
Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, Inc. (FREE) founded in 1977 and headquartered in Old Bethpage, benefits and proudly supports more than 4,000 individuals with intellectual disabilities, mental illness and traumatic brain injury. It is the mission of FREE to help individuals of all abilities realize their full potential. FREE provides a diverse array of supports and services including: housing, recovery services, transition to work, employment, day, community and family services, respite, crisis services, education and after-school support, primary and specialty health care and advocacy. For more information, please visit www.familyres.org.
About Drum Corps International
From modest beginnings more than three decades ago, Drum Corps International (DCI) has developed into a powerful, nonprofit, global youth activity with far-reaching artistic, educational and organizational influence. Through the annual DCI Tour and World Championships, Drum Corps International provides entertainment to millions through live performances and nationally-broadcast events. Drum Corps International is Marching Music’s Major League™.
DCI Mission Statement
Drum Corps International is a cooperative association of its member and participating organizations: We seek to promote and inspire unparalleled excellence
in music and performing arts throughout the world.Touching lives around the world:
Drum Corps International delivers the message of “excellence in performance and in life” to more than 7.2 million young people, ages 13-22 involved in performing arts in the United States
Active participants in U.S.-based drum and bugle corps hail from more than 15 countries
The annual Drum Corps International Tour is made up of more than 100 events throughout North America
Each summer, some 400,000 fans attend live drum corps events
Organizer and beneficiary
Brian Calhoun
Organizer
Old Bethpage, NY
Nicole Carter
Beneficiary