Sticking Up For Children is an effort from the New Orleans arts and culture community that connects people, specifically children, parents, and organizations in need, to arts/music and the resources necessary for sustainability and growth. One way 'Sticking Up' does this is through interactive Music & Arts Days which are events for children and parents to come create artwork out of musicians' used drumsticks. The proceeds from the sales of the newly decorated drumsticks then go to benefit young people in need at multiple organizations in New Orleans and Haiti. The project began in early 2013 with an idea from Cyrille and Gaynielle Neville, Cyrille's band the Royal Southern Brotherhood, and WWOZ's volunteer coordinator and show host Maryse Dejean and her husband, Don Paul.

Many talented drummers have donated their used sticks to the project, including Stanton Moore, Alfred Roberts, Johnny Vidacovich, Luther Gray, Michael Skinkus, Gene Harding, Idris Muhammad, Pedrito Martinez, Hamid Drake, Steve Smith, and John Paris. As the initiative has grown, musicians on the other side of the drumkit have also gotten involved with donations coming from Dr. John, Jonathan Richman, David Torkanowsky, Donald Harrison, Jr., and many more. The sticks are turned into art by the children who will benefit from their sale-- young people are able to creatively help themselves through this initiative.

The next Music & Arts Day will be this Saturday, August 22 from 2-4p at the Ashé Cultural Arts Center at 1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd. There will be live drumming and drumsticks available for painting. Performers include Alfred Roberts, Johnny Vidacovich, Alexey Marti of Cuba, Damas Louis (Fanfan) of Haiti, and the recently transplanted Cole William. Clarinetist Evan Christopher will also be on hand for a talk on how he got his start in music. All supporters, especially parents and children, are welcome to attend this free event.

Beneficiaries of Sticking Up For Children include the New Orleans Youth Sound Experience and the Kuumba Institute at the Ashé Cultural Arts Center in New Orleans and the Youpi Youpi School and Foyer Espoir Pour les Enfants in Haiti.

Find out more about this Saturday's event on Facebook. Learn more about Sticking Up For Children on their website, where they also have some of the artwork available to purchase. Additional Music & Arts Days will be held on September 26 and October 24.