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Grantee: Holy Names Music Center

Project Title: Guitars for Veterans Spokane
Year awarded: 2026, Round 1

Holy Names Music Center, in partnership with Guitars for Vets (G4V) Spokane, will launch a 12-week professional music education program in 2026 designed to help veterans move from waitlists into active healing through guitar instruction, songwriting, and community connection. The program will serve 10–12 veterans—many currently unable to access services due to limited volunteer capacity—through weekly lessons, group jam sessions, and optional songwriting workshops culminating in a public performance at McNally Recital Hall. Participants will each receive a quality acoustic guitar to keep, ensuring long-term access to music as a tool for wellness and creative expression.

SAGA funding will support paid professional instruction, program coordination, instruments, and public programming—expanding Guitars for Vets Spokane from a small, volunteer-run effort into a scalable, trauma-informed arts initiative. By combining G4V’s nationally proven curriculum with Holy Names’ professional faculty and facilities, the program delivers measurable artistic growth while addressing isolation, PTSD, and barriers to care. The result is both immediate and lasting impact: veterans gain musical skills, creative voice, and community belonging, while Spokane establishes a replicable model for arts-based veteran support at a time of urgent need.