Newport Festivals Foundation and KEEN partner to provide instruments for public schools in Portland, OR.

This donation was made through the NFF REVIVAL program: For every pair of Newport Revival sandals sold, Keen will donate $50 to Newport Festivals Foundation for music scholarships, instrument donations, and afterschool programs. The foundation’s latest “revival” took place here in Keen’s hometown of Portland, Oregon, where together we delivered $20,000 worth of musical instruments to public music programs that serve Portland’s immigrant and refugee communities.

We were fortunate enough to be joined by Patterson Hood of the Drive-by-Truckers and Kyle Kraft, both Newport Folk Artist Alumni.

See the impact in this 5-minute video:

“It’s an amazing feeling to hand a kid an instrument, especially when you know those instruments will benefit tons of kids for years to come,” says David Munk, events director at KEEN, who was instrumental (pun intended!) in making Newport Revival happen. “I’ve been at KEEN for over 12 years, and this project has been one of the most fulfilling to collaborate on. It combines all the things that are important to me as an individual: giving kids an opportunity that wouldn’t otherwise exist and music.” Portland is one of America’s top refugee-accepting cities, with refugees and immigrants making up approximately 13 percent of the total population. Despite the city’s commitment to these communities, there remains a barrier of entry when it comes to music education. By donating instruments, we’re helping to lower that barrier and empowering these communities with the benefits of music.

“Kids that are exposed to music education at a young age, their graduation rates are higher, their attendance rates are higher, their math scores are higher. But we have 5 million kids in the United States who don’t have access to music education programs,” says Christopher Capotosto, Newport Festivals Foundation marketing & creative director.

With Newport Revival, we’re hoping to change that. Last year, funds from the sale of our sandals were used to send instruments to rural schools in Puerto Rico. If you’d like to band together with us and keep kids playing music, consider grabbing a pair of Newport Revival sandals for your upcoming summer adventures and music festivals, including the iconic Newport Folk Festival in July. We’ll see you there!