A Place To Be

Goal: $40,000.00

Specific Need

Share the Joy of Belonging through A Place To Be!

People with disabilities or other medical or mental health challenges face unique challenges that can lead to feelings of isolation. A Place To Be is determined to change that narrative—and we invite you to join us in creating a community where every person knows that they truly belong.

Belonging is a shared experience. When you give to A Place To Be, your contribution not only has the power to transform the lives of people with disabilities and their families through music therapy and other expressive arts experiences—it also connects you with a community that believes in the power of inclusion.

Your Give Choose gift helps us reach hundreds of individuals each week with vital therapeutic services and social connections that create opportunity and community, healing and hope, a place to belong and a place to be.

As we continue to welcome more families into our new Leesburg center, expanding our reach from our original home in Middleburg—and with more requests for help arriving every day—your contribution is more important now than ever.

$10 No act of kindness is too small! Share the joy of belonging as part of the A Place To Be community

$25 Provide supplies for a participant’s take-home project in an expressive arts enrichment session

$50 Provide a costume for a child in one of A Place To Be’s musical theater shows

$100 Provide partial support for 4 children in financial need to attend one week of music or expressive arts therapy

$250 Purchase new musical instruments for therapy and enrichment sessions

$425 Sponsor a child’s summer day camp enrollment, with a full week of artistic activities culminating in a final public presentation

$800 Sponsor one youth or young adult’s weekly group therapy sessions for one semester, to cultivate life skills, self-confidence and friendships

$1,200 Sponsor one child’s weekly individual therapy sessions for 3 months, promoting sustained progress toward clinical goals, personal development and well-being

$1,600 Sponsor one youth or young adult’s weekly group therapy sessions for a full year

$4,500 Sponsor one child’s weekly individual therapy sessions for a full year

Mission

A Place To Be’s mission is to create community, belonging and hope for individuals with disabilities or other medical or mental health challenges through music therapy, performance and the expressive arts.

Profile

At A Place To Be, educating and healing through artistic and creative expression is embedded in all that we do, as we sit at the intersection of the arts, human services and health. Our therapeutic programs enable clients to work toward their individual clinical goals while also equipping them with the skills and confidence to connect meaningfully with others through performance and the shared experience of accessible and inclusive arts. In turn, they participate more fully in the broader community, find a greater sense of belonging, build resilience, and strengthen their mental health and well-being.

Our programs are delivered through five primary avenues:

1. One-on-one music therapy, creative arts therapy and expressive arts enrichment sessions directed toward improving or maintaining progress toward clinical goals (e.g., mental health, psychosocial coping skills, self-sufficiency)

2. Group-based music and expressive arts therapy and special enrichment sessions, including summer camps, focused on self-expression, socialization, mental health and connection

3. Medical music therapy, delivered at hospitals within the Inova Health System, working with patients from neonatal intensive care through end-of-life care to address pain management, anxiety, disorientation and emotional processing, as well as neurologic music therapy to promote improved function after a stroke, traumatic brain injury, or Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease

4. Transitional programming for older youth and young adults who have “graduated” from therapeutic services, including workforce skills building, age-appropriate socialization, focused learning tracks, mentoring, and public speaking and advocacy

5. Inclusive theater, music and film performances involving clients as writers, composers and performers, including community outreach productions in partnership with Loudoun County Public Schools, sharing messages of empathy, resilience, inclusion and hope

We also provide wraparound educational and support services to clients and their families, as well as financial aid to those who could otherwise not afford the therapeutic services they need.

Photos & Videos

Learn A Place To Be's Story And Our Mission To Spread The Healing Power of Music

A Place To Be's group offerings give individuals a chance to socialize, make friends, and learn social skills, regardless of their diagnosis

A Place To Be offers both virtual and in person sessions, serving a wide range of diagnosis and ages

Through our talented staff, we now serve 125 individual clients per week, 6 days a week

Our 4 annual recitals give clients a goal to work towards in their sessions

In the fall, our touring show 5 Ways To Make A Friend shred SEL skills with thousands of students

Through our contract with Inova, we provide music to patients in the NICU, ICU, and beyond

This year we continued our commitment to inclusive theatre, through musicals like The Snow Monster

2023 saw the opening of our new space at Village At Leesburg, including the Mars-Schmidt Theatre, a perfomance space of our very own

Summer Camps, focusing on filmmaking, theatre production, saw clients collaborate creatively

With recording studios at both our Middleburg and Leesburg campuses, A Place To Be is committed to providing creative & learning opportunities for all