Two San Diego teens investigated their high school foundation’s finances. Then one got called in to the principal.

Kevin Wang, a 17-year-old senior at Canyon Crest Academy, was bored over the summer and needed something to do.

Then he remembered something that had bothered him back when he was a business officer for one of the school’s robotics teams: The school’s nonprofit foundation and main fundraising arm, the Canyon Crest Academy Foundation, was taking a bunch of money from his team.

The foundation kept 25 percent of every donation it collected on behalf of the robotics team. It did that for other student clubs, too, and it controlled the accounts of school-sponsored clubs, such as the robotics team, Kevin said.

Then, at the end of every fiscal year, it would take somewhere between 28 and 34 percent of the team’s revenue, Kevin said — the percentage varied year to year and wasn’t fully explained.

“I thought they were just super expensive — a rip-off,” Kevin said of the fees in an interview. “I just thought it was really wrong.”

Over the summer, he realized he still had access to the robotics team’s financial spreadsheets. So he began digging to find out where this fee money was going.

“What I found was, like, really shocking, and it just kept building up,” Kevin said...

Two San Diego teens investigated their high school foundation’s finances. Then one got called in to the principal. (msn.com)

Hungry for Music

At the Takoma Park JazzFest this afternoon I came across a table sponsoring Hungry for Music. Hungry for Music is a non-profit that provides musical instruments to children who are hungry to play. The flyer has a quote from its Executive Director, Jeff Campbell, which says, “Hungry for Music’s purpose is to embrace the positive qualities of music; its ability to create community, to express a talent, to unify all people, and most importantly to heal.” The organization is a 501 (c) (3) based here in Washington and active since 1994.

Hungry for Music collects musical instruments and donates them to children across the country. So, if you have that violin lying around that your child refuses to play; the clarinet or flute in your basement or hidden in your closet, this seems like a wonderful organization to which to donate it. I spoke with Alan Friedman who was manning the booth. They will be happy to pick up the instrument you would like to donate. Here is his email address: AlanKFriedman@yahoo.com, or go to this page on the Hungry for Music website to schedule a pickup. If you would like to register to receive an instrument, go to this page on the Hungry for Music website. Their phone number is (202)-674-3000.  Do something good this afternoon!