Wendy Oxenhorn

The Jazz Foundation of America (JFA) is a non-profit organization based in Manhattan, New York founded in 1989. The JFAs programs help jazz and blues musicians in need of emergency funds and connect them with performance opportunities in schools and the community. The organization works to bridge the gap between social and medical resources and the jazz legends whose careers did not ensure this kind of support.

The Jazz Musicians' Emergency Fund and Housing Fund, established with the help of E-Trade Financial, specifically helps freelance musicians who dont have standard benefits, a pension plan or health insurance to cover one-time expenses. Often, the musicians grow older and due to life tragedies or health problems, can no longer work steadily and find themselves unable to make ends meet. Musicians can apply to JFA social workers for assistance with rent, housing, mortgage payments, healthcare, and more. The Jazz Foundation of America has also created a volunteer network of other professionals (and caring jazz enthusiasts) throughout the United States who provide free legal, dental, and other health services when needed.

The JFAs Agnes Varis/Jazz in the Schools program extends through eight states and operates as both a tool for educational outreach and as an employment service. Jazz in the Schools offers free hour-long performances by jazz quartets of accredited musicians, incorporating lessons about instrumentation and jazz music history. In return, the musicians are paid fair wages by the JFA made possible by grants and "Saint" Agnes Varis, President of Agvar Chemicals, Inc. The Agnes Varis/Jazz in Schools program employs over 120 musicians throughout New York City and hundreds throughout the south, reaching dozens of public schools and hospital schools each month and touching the daily lives of hundreds of school children. www.jazzfoundation.org

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Nonprofits & Activism

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