Description: This is
a VOA Special English Education Report.
See text below
Text:
Each year, George Mason University in Fairfax,
Virginia, presents a jazz concert. Around one
thousand two hundred people attended this year's
concert in October. Yet when the program first
started, the student musicians played to an almost
empty theater. Ed Weiner was one of the few people
in the audience when the school held the first jazz
concert ten years ago. He says: "The quality of the
performance was outstanding, but I was shocked to
see the poor attendance." So he did something about
it. He found a way not only to increase attendance,
but also to raise money for the community. Ed Weiner
is a lawyer. He organized the concerts into a
program called Jazz 4 Justice. The performers
include students and employees from the university,
along with guest musicians. The concert raises money
for the Fairfax Law Foundation. The local group uses
some of that money to provide free legal services to
people in the community. The foundation also
supports programs to help young people learn about
the legal system. These include courthouse tours and
education about the legal and health effects of drug
and alcohol abuse.Foundation officials say the
yearly concert brings in about fifteen thousand
dollars. Five thousand dollars of that money goes to
George Mason University for scholarships for
students in the jazz studies program. Jim Carroll
directs that program. He says Jazz 4 Justice grew
slowly, each year becoming larger and larger. And he
says all the credit really goes to Ed Weiner.Mister
Weiner says the idea is to provide a meaningful
experience for the young musicians. He says: "We
want to keep the focus on the students. This is part
of their education and they really see that their
talents can be turned into very good projects and
doing good for the entire community." Trombone
player Amy Loudin agrees. She says: "It's all for a
good cause, so I feel glad to be a part of that." Ed
Weiner says he hopes Jazz 4 Justice can be copied in
other communities in Virginia and across the
country. For VOA Special English, I'm Alex
Villarreal. You can comment on this program on our
website voaspecialenglish.com. And you can find us
on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English.
Hi. I
personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
To post a comment:
• Click "Comment using..." in
the window below
• Click your favorite service: Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail
• Login to the service
• Click "Add a comment..."
• Post your comment in the window
Students: Please post a
comment stating what you found interesting about this video. You are
welcome to include links to your English study blogs and any
other materials you think might be useful for learning
English.
Teachers: Please post your
thoughts about this video. You are welcome to include links to
your sites, blogs, and any other materials you think might
be useful for learning English.
Hi. I
personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
