American Youth Symphony received a grant to support their Share-A-Stand musical mentorship outreach program. The program offers AYS orchestra members opportunities to gain valuable teaching experience and provide much needed support to music teachers in three Title-1 schools in Granada Hills, East LA and Watts. They work with over 300 middle school music students aged 11-14. The AYS musicians hone their mentorship, teaching and leadership skills while simultaneously supporting the learning objectives of the music teachers with regards to mastering state standards in music performance. Beyond the Share-A-Stand program AYS makes it possible for everyone to enjoy music by providing more than a dozen free concerts a year. Their mission is to inspire the future of classical music by providing advanced training to virtuosic young musicians and exceptional, innovative free concerts to the Los Angeles community. American Youth Symphony also received a grant from the Leo Buscaglia Foundation in 2017.