Volunteer - Help teach guitar to foster kids, at risk youth and other deserving children. It's time to step up to the plate and help kids that need you. Give them a hand up. Show you care about the future of music by volunteering now. ...

Mentoring Initiative

Governor Phil Bredesen's Mentoring Initiative pairs teenagers in foster care with volunteer mentors who help the foster children learn to build trusting relationships with stable, positive adults.

Research shows that mentoring can have a significant impact on the lives of young people as they prepare for adulthood. According to a 2000 study conducted by Big Brothers Big Sisters of America entitled "Making a Difference," pre-teens and teenagers who participate in a mentoring relationship are:

* 46 percent less likely to start using drugs
* 27 percent less likely to get into a fight
* Less likely to skip classes or miss school
* More confident in their ability to complete schoolwork

The Governor's Mentoring Initiative is a program of the Tennessee Children's Cabinet, which includes the Department of Children's Services and other state departments that touch children's issues. Youth Villages, a private, nonprofit provider of services to children and families, operates the Governor's Mentoring Initiative on behalf of the State of Tennessee.

Governor Bredesen's goal is to find hundreds more Tennesseans who want to make a difference in the lives of foster children.

Click here learn how you can become a mentor.Call 1-866-519-LIFT or by email.

"We want good folks, from all walks of life, to share some of their time and wisdom with Tennessee's foster care kids. Every child needs a steady hand to help guide him or her into independent, adult living. By giving our most vulnerable kids - those living in foster care - that support, we boost their chances of successfully transitioning into the grown-up world." - Governor Phil Bredesen

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Gibson USA - 309 Plus Park Blvd Nashville, TN 37217

The home of Gibson electric guitars today is "Gibson USA," built in 1974 in Nashville specifically for the production of Gibson's Les Paul guitars. Although the entire guitar industry went through a slump in the late '70s, the spirit of innovation remained strong at Gibson. In response to a growing demand for vintage stylings, Gibson tapped its rich history and reissued the dot-neck version of the ES-335 in 1981 and the flametop sunburst Les Paul in 1982. At the same time, two legendary guitarists joined Gibson- B.B. King in 1980 with the Lucille model and Chet Atkins in 1982 with his new concept of a solidbody acoustic guitar.

Gibson world headquarters moved to Nashville in 1984 with the closing of the Kalamazoo plant. The financially troubled company was rescued in January 1986 by Henry Juszkiewicz and David Berryman, and the new owners quickly restored Gibson's reputation for quality as well as its profitability.

Today's Gibson electric guitars represent the history as well as the future of the electric guitar. The models whose designs have become classics-the ES-175, ES-335, Flying V, Explorer, Firebird, SGs and Les Pauls-are a testament to Gibson's wide appeal, spanning more than four decades of music styles. Gibson's close relationship with musicians is manifest in endorsement models from King, Atkins and jazz greats Howard Roberts and Herb Ellis, plus new Les Pauls made to the personal specifications of rock stars Jimmy Page and Joe Perry. In 1994, Gibson's Centennial year, the new Nighthawk model won an industry award for design, setting the stage for a second hundred years of Gibson quality and innovation.

GIBSON FOUNDATION

Founded in 2002, the Gibson Foundation is committed to making the world a better place by creating, developing and supporting programs and other non-profit organizations in their efforts to advance education, music and the arts, Programs.