March 2019 - Spirit Of The Desert Foundation, Inc. receives 501(c)3 nonprofit status and an EIN is assigned

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April 2020 - SOTDF holds it’s first public fund and awareness raiser in Palm Desert.

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May 2021 - SOTDF donates funds to A.M.P. for thier music programs and sponsors two students to attend online advanced

recording production classes.

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April 2022 - Executive Director Johnny Meza is introduced to Debra Apple who is a second grade teacher at Ronald Reagan Elementary School. Johnny tells her about the SOTDF and how we would like to provide instruments and lessons to students.

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May 2022 - We received a call from Ms. Apple indicating her principal approved having ukulele and recorder lessons starting October 2022.  With a small nonprofit grant we received from the State of CA, SOTDF intially purchased 40 ukuleles and 40 recorders. Johnny Meza and Programs Facilitator Tony Bolivar both volunteered to teach ukulele and recorder, respectively, to help start our Pilot Program.  We successfully completed two nine week courses, for a total of 78 students, with a final awards ceremony which featured the students performing songs on thier instruments for the school staff and their parents. Johnny and Tony donated their time and efforts developing a viable teaching program with no compensation other than misc teaching supplies.

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April 2023 - SOTDF was invited to attend and present our program to the Desert Sands Unified School District, After School ELOP (Extended Learning Opportunities Program) EXPO. We were assigned a table and set-up large posters demonstrating our programs and information about the SOTDF. We met several teachers and school liasons and answered many questions for them. Later during the evening we performed an impromptu performance on ukulele and recorder which illicited a postive response from many of the attendees!

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May of 2023 - SOTDF awarded contracts to teach our ukulele and recorder programs to five elementary schools in the DSUSD for the 2023-2024 ELOP sessions.  For that school year our program tutored over 240 students!

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For the 2024-25 ELOP Sessions, we are currently teaching eleven 10-week courses at four elementary schools in the DSUSD with one school having double sessions.  We project to tutor another 150+ students this school year.

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May 30, 2025 - First Annual Scholarship Awards Programs held in the Event Room courtesy of Shadow Mountain Golf Course.  Scholarships were awarded to high school students for college expenses.

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2025-26 - DSUSD ELOP sessions introducing Beginning and Intermediate Guitar and Beginning Melodica along with Ukulele and Recorder Programs.

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Over 550+ elementary students will have been given instruments and instruction to date!

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