THE Sarah McLachlan School of Music in Vancouver has a new home thanks in large part to the efforts of a West Vancouver family.
The Wolverton Foundation bought and renovated a building at Main Street and Seventh Avenue in Vancouver for the school.
Established in 2001 by the West Vancouver-based singer-songwriter, the school gives free music lessons to youth who can't afford to pay - the only program of its kind in the province.
The 16,000 square-foot building is the result of a two-year partnership between the foundation and the school to find a new home.
Lisa Wolverton is executive director of the West Vancouverbased private foundation that was founded by her mother, Donna. Lisa said she saw the need for a larger space when she toured the school's previous location in a church, about half the size of the new building.
"They must have had 25 kids crammed into one room and each with a keyboard and barely enough room to move around," she said. "But the energy and the smiles and the music coming out of that room was amazing. I just felt it to my core, and so did my mom."
The donation is valued at about $7.5 million for purchasing the property and renovating the second-floor space to include six larger studios, six private lesson spaces, a 175-seat performance space, an office and a lunch room.
A $200,000 donation came from the previous owner of the building, and two other donors provided $100,000 each for instruments.
"We'll be able to bring more students in to access musical education and expand our program," said Ann de la Hey, executive director of the school, who said the donation was a "dream" for them. "It means that all our funding can go towards programming and it means we don't have to worry about a roof over our heads."
Lisa said it shows the power of philanthropy when it's directed to a specific cause, and encouraged others to step up and give.
