Our program was founded in Pembroke, Ontario in 2017. Music Healing Veterans Canada is registered in Canada as an incorporated, not-for-profit organization. Our program is governed by an elected Board of Directors. We currently have six chapters across Canada (and growing) and we operate much like any other successful corporation, with defined branding and marketing practices. Along with our own branding and promotion, we make every effort to help promote the services of our national sponsor, Spartan Wellness; a strong supporter of veteran initiatives and the wellness our program brings to so many.

Our motto, "Where Words Fail, Music Speaks." ~ Hans Christian Anderson

The goal of Music Healing Veterans Canada is to provide FREE music instruction, loaner instruments and companionship to Military Veterans (Regular & Reserve; All Branches), First Responders (Fire, Police, EMT, etc.), Medical Professionals (Doctors, Nurses, Specialists), Corrections Canada and Canada Border Services personnel suffering from visible and/or invisible challenges (i.e. PTSD) that they developed in the course of their duties.

We are looking for dedicated individuals that have a passion for initiatives such as ours, that give back to the community and help others in need of the healing power that music instruction can provide. Chapter managers come from all walks of life and you do not have to be a veteran or mentally challenged to start a chapter in your area. A passion for music would definitely be an asset but this is a passion you can grow through your involvement in this program. It is very satisfying when you see, through your efforts, the happiness this program brings to others.

A founding Chapter Manager should have the following requirements:

1) Good organizational skills. Keeping a journal of your daily dealings with the program is a good place to start. When your chapter starts up you will keep records of membership applications, finances, etc.

2) A desire to lead. As Chapter Manager you are the "front man" for your chapter. Others will look to you for guidance and direction in their involvement with you and the program.

3) Computer skills and knowledge of social media interaction (particularly, Facebook) are a definite asset. If you do not consider yourself "techie", try to enlist the aid of another that can help you. Most of our communication is done through Facebook, email and our national website. Each chapter has it's own Facebook page and group, in which you would be an administrator. Do not fear - you will be supplied with all the help and guidance you need in this matter, if needed.

4) Patience. Some chapters have great success starting up early in the game, while others find recruiting members challenging for a variety of reasons. When your chapter is up and running your attendance numbers from week to week may vary. We beleive that, even if you only have a few members/students per meeting, that is a success and you can slowly continue to build up your chapter with time. "Rome wasn't built in a day.", as the saying goes.

5) Diplomacy. You will be expected to treat all members without bias or prejudice of any kind. We do not judge others and we understand that members are dealing with a variety of challenges. Everybody reacts to traumatic life events differently and we cannot belittle an individuals experience with mental illness.

Your first step forward is to get in contact with Music Healing Veterans Canada.

MHVC will supply promotional materials such as business cards, posters/flyers and brochures for distribution. You will also be sent a variety of promotional materials from our national sponsor, Spartan Wellness. As our budget permits, we will supply chapters with guitar kits to be used as loaners to students who do not have their own instruments. If you require other instruments for your students, based on demand and availability of instructors within your chapter for said instruments, MHVC will help you with that. MHVC will setup a Facebook group and page, complete with graphics for your chapter and your chapter will be added to the national online member application page, which is linked from the national website and all Facebook groups and pages. One of our goals is that our chapters will eventually become self-sustaining financially. Until this happens, MHVC will continue to support you in any way we can.

A lot of "leg work" and aggressive social media marketing. You will receive full instructions from National when you have accepted the Chapter Manager role.

The answer is No. Though you are disabled, you are allowed to volunteer/get involved in any programs you like. All members of this organization are volunteers, some with disabilites, mainly PTSD. There is no compensation for services, from the CEO level to the student/member level.

At the chapter level, financial responsibilities will vary based on the growth of your chapter, donations made directly to your chapter, and any monies you take in from local sponsorship and compensation for participation in events in your area. It is a good idea to elect a chapter financial manager and jointly open a bank account for your chapter, if things such as service fees (for example) are easily coverable by income you have secured. With regards to "out of pocket" expenses" we hope our chapter managers don't have any. This program is supposed to be fun for all, and not a financial burden to any involved. An example of this can be taken from one of our chapters. The first example of recurring expenses for this chapter was the cost of a box of Tim Hortons coffee for each weekly meeting. At first, the chapter manager paid this fee each week, only to find others suggesting we setup a weekly "coffee fund" that members could donate each week to help share the cost of the weekly meeting coffee. Donations were made weekly, covering the cost of the coffee and therein removing that chapter managers out-of-pocket expense.

Yes. All the information you need will be supplied to you when you have accepted the role of Chapter Manager.

Yes. We provide a curriculum for you to follow based on the success of this model in other chapters. The execution of this model will vary from chapter to chapter for a variety of reasons, but we would like your chapter to try to follow this curriculum as closely as possible to ensure the same success that has been acheived by other chapters.

The main rules/standard operating procedures to be followed by each chapter are as follows:

1) Our logo cannot be changed, however, we do have alternate color combinations for different purposes.

2) Our motto cannot be changed. Our national motto is, "Where words fail, music speaks.". This is a quote by Hans Christian Anderson.

3) All member registration is done through our national online application form found on this site, or any of our Facebook groups and pages. National disseminates the applications and forwards them to the applicable chapter manager via email.

4) Each chapter MUST have an email address. It is recommended that you setup a chapter-specific email via any free online email services, such as GMail, Hotmail, etc. This email address should be monitored daily.

5) You and your staff will be considered representatives of Music Healing Veterans Canada. You will be expected to be respectful in your dealings with social media and to not make posts that would discredit our organization.

6) There is to be only one website for the entire program. Your chapter information will be displayed on the national website's contact page. In the future we hope to develop internal webpages specific to each chapter.

7) Each chapter will have it's own Facebook page and group, in which, MHVC National and that chapters manager or representative will be administrators. All Facebook groups and pages will be setup for you by National.

8) MHVC National maintains national Twitter and Instagram accounts/profiles. Chapters are welcome to explore these sources of social media, but all graphics (profile pics, cover photos, etc.) and setup details MUST be cleared by national before they are to be published.

9) Chapters are allowed to produce their own promotional materials but all designs must be approved by national prior to printing. All promotional materials are to contain our logo, our motto and the web address of the national website.

10) Chapter Managers are to maintain an acceptable level of contact with MHVC National at all times. You will be given further explanation of this upon your acceptance of the Chapter Manager role.

11) Chapters are encouraged to seek local sponsorship, as long as it does not present a conflict of interest with any national sponsorship.

12) This program is not to be used by any of it's membership to promote their own business ventures in any way. All promotion used within our program must be strictly balanced between Music Healing Veterans Canada and our sponsors.

13) HAVE FUN! This program is not as complicated as it may seem once you get involved. "Slow and steady wins the race."