She'd lived in this city her entire life, but she'd never seen it from this high up. Never realized how small everything looked from this vantage point. Daniel sat across from her at a long table. Beside him were three other executives, two women and a man, all in business casual, all with tablets and laptops open in front of them. At the head of the table sat a woman in her 50s who'd introduced herself as doctor Patricia Morrison, the newly appointed director of the Loretta Hayes Music Initiative.
"We've been flooded with applications," Dr. Morrison said, scrolling through something on her tablet. "Over 8,000 in 3 weeks. Kids from Detroit, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago, rural Georgia, the Bronx, everywhere. All of them talented.
All of them struggling. Many of them in situations similar to yours." Amara felt her chest tighten. 8,000 kids. 8,000. How many can we fund?
Daniel asked, making notes on his own tablet. With current resources, we can offer full scholarships to about 200 students this year. Dr. Morrison replied, full means housing, education instruments, tutoring, mental health support everything. But if donations continue at this rate, she pulled up a chart showing projected funding.
We could potentially triple that number next year, maybe more. One of the other executives, a woman named Janet, spoke up. The corporate sponsors are lining up. We've got interest from instrument manufacturers, streaming platforms, even some major labels wanting to partner. Everyone wants to be associated with this initiative.
Make sure the partnerships don't come with strings, Daniel said immediately. No company gets to use these kids for marketing without their explicit consent. No photo ops they don't want to do. No manufactured storylines. We're not repeating the mistakes of Voices of America.
Janet nodded, making a note. Understood. What about the housing component? Daniel asked. That's the piece I'm most concerned about.
Music lessons don't mean anything if a kid's sleeping in a car. Dr. Morrison pulled up another document. We're partnering with youth housing organizations in 15 cities so far. We've secured apartments, home stays with vetted families, and in some cases, group homes specifically for artists.
We're working with social workers in each location to ensure every student has stable housing, three meals a day, and access to health care. Health care is covered, Amara heard herself ask. It was the first time she'd spoken in the meeting. Everyone turned to look at her. Yes, Dr.
Morrison said gently. Full coverage, medical, dental, vision, mental health. No exceptions. Amara's throat went tight. She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.