Music Matters Blog
January 2021 Teddy Cars, a dealership specializing in Nissans and Volkswagens and located on Boston Road in the Edenwald area of the Bronx, announced their ongoing commitment of $20,000 to support music education in the Bronx.
A year ago, the Teddy Cars Bronx Music Grant Program pledged $20,000 in funding for ten school and community music programs in the Bronx. However, due to the pandemic, the "Music Matters" program was temporarily halted after supporting five initiatives. Starting this month, the dealership will resume its monthly commitment by contributing to five additional music programs in the Bronx.
Julio Batista, the President and General Manager of Teddy Cars, emphasized the dealership's dedication to supporting music programs in the Bronx. He stated, "Now, more than ever, it's important to support creative activities for Bronx children, and as a community-minded local business, we're proud to do it."
The first beneficiary of this renewed initiative will be the Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation’s (WHEDco) after-school program at P.S./I.S. 218 in Concourse Village. The grant will be utilized to provide staff for WHEDco’s percussion instruction classes for students in grades K-5 at the school.
Expressing gratitude, Jamie Yellen, the director of WHEDco’s after-school program, highlighted the numerous benefits of music instruction, including language and reasoning development, memorization skills, improved hand-eye coordination, enhanced self-esteem, a sense of achievement, imagination development, teamwork, and keeping children engaged in school, especially during challenging times.
In February, the Music Matters funding will support a music program at the Bronx House Harriet and Robert H. Heilbrunn Music School in Pelham Parkway.
Music grants have already been distributed to various institutions, including the Renaissance Youth Center in Claremont Village, PS 72 in Throgs Neck, The Bennington Band at P.S. 76 in Allerton, Mosholu Montefiore Community Center in Norwood, and Baychester Academy in Edenwald.
Representatives of Teddy Cars highlighted the dealership's foundation on the vision of creating a world-class car dealership operation with high volume and customer satisfaction. Owner Ted Bessen is recognized for pioneering one of the highest-volume dealerships in the city's northeast and maintaining one of the top customer-satisfaction ratings in the State of New York. Teddy Cars features an extensive line of new and pre-owned vehicles at Teddy Volkswagen.
