This is part of a year-long ‘Love for Local’ series called NB365: portraits of New Brunswick entrepreneurs, businesses, and organizations. Huddle is a media partner with Love for Local. Today, we hear from Ken MacLeod of Sistema NB Moncton Centre.

Sistema NB has verified the possibility of transformative social change through music and the orchestra. We have demonstrated that great art is for everyone and that it has the power to improve the lives of children and their families and enhance our society.

We have shown that, for children, an orchestra means joy, motivation, discipline, teamwork, that it builds confidence and self-esteem, and that it is incredibly fun. Who wouldn’t want that for even more children?

We have nine centres across the province where kids come to practice and socialize three hours after school, five days a week.

We are guided by three principles, which are inclusion, intensity, and excellence. We foster strong values and life skills in kids who participate in the program, leaving them with a lifelong commitment to be the best version of themselves.

Recently, we launched the “10,000 Children” campaign, which is a fundraiser that will allow us to double the number of children joining the program every day, going from 1,000 currently to 2,000 over the next 15 years.