The Hollister Parks and Recreation Department is preparing to offer free guitar classes this summer, including new guitars on loan for the duration of the eight-week program, according to Tina Garza, recreation supervisor in charge of implementing the new activity planned to start in July.
Preparations are still being formulated regarding where the classes will be held, including dates and times and how many vetted and competent instructors will teach the lessons, but the new program has the support of City Manager Billy Avera.
The program is an extension of Guitars Not Guns, Monterey Chapter. The national nonprofit organization, founded in 2000, has a simple mission, according to its website: “We provide guitars and lessons to foster children and at-risk youth in a classroom setting with qualified teachers as an alternative to violence. Our program is targeted to foster kids and at-risk youth ages 8-18 using high teacher-to-student ratios. Each class consists of a maximum of 10 students with three adult instructors. Each program is eight weeks long with a one hour session each week.”
In addition to learning how to master changing from one chord to another, children learn “perseverance and discipline and build self-esteem,” according to the organization. “More importantly, the kids learn to enjoy the interaction and have fun in a group setting. Those kids who complete the full, eight-week program have earned the right to keep the guitar and are invited to return for a second eight-week session of more advanced instruction. They’ve earned it!”
The executive director of Guitars Not Guns Monterey Chapter, Stephen Vagnini, said he is willing to expand the program into San Benito County by offering to pay for and ship guitars, gear bags, and instruction books to the City of Hollister once classes are formed and competent instructors have been vetted by the organization including LiveScan criminal background checks for the safety of the students.Â
Vagnini posted the following statement on the Monterey County Chapter Facebook page:Â “During the last year, 215 students in Monterey County have received free guitar instruction and guitars. In addition to classes at Rancho Cielo, the local chapter of Guitars Not Guns have held 20 classes this year at the Castroville Middle School; at King City High School; at the Marina Youth Center; at Marina High School; at Fairview Middle School in Gonzales; with Community Partnership for Youth in Seaside, at the Boys & Girls Club in Seaside; and at the Alisal Center for Fine Arts and the Salvation Army in Salinas. New classes are in the works in Soledad, in South County with CHISPA and in Big Sur.”
The free guitar classes have also captured the interest of the Chamberlains Children Center in Hollister as well as the San Benito County Arts Council to explore expanding the program for youths living in rural parts of San Benito County in the future.Â
District 5 San Benito County Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz inquired about supporting the nascent Guitars Not Guns program, in part, by dispersing a portion of the funds allocated to individual supervisors intended to improve the lives of kids who live within their respective jurisdictions through donations to nonprofits in 2017.Â
Like the successful and free Junior Giants non-competitive baseball program run by the San Benito County PAL (Police Athletics League in partnership with the City of Hollister Parks and Recreation program, this free program activity has the potential to grow rapidly in popularity — especially for kids who may be more interested in music and the arts than in community sports programs.Â
Parents or guardians of children interested in participating in this program should contact the City of Hollister Parks and Recreation Department at 831-636-4390 for more information about enrolling in the eight-week summer program.Â
A recent ABC-7 news story video highlighting a north Bay Area chapter of Guitars Not Guns program can be viewed below.Â