Confession time! I failed to make a May charitable contribution. Time just got away from me, and before I knew it, June had arrived. So this month's contribution was actually in the amount of $50 to make up for my missed month.

This month I decided to donate to the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra. You can probably sense a theme here, seeing as all of my donations so far have been to organizations or individuals in order to encourage young people to get involved in music.

I was a member of CYSO from my sophomore through senior years of high school, and I can't think of one thing I did during that period of my life that impacted me more. I got to play incredibly rich repertoire, got to work under some amazing conductors, and best of all it was with a group of my peers who loved classical music just as much as I did. Some of my very best friends, to this day, are people that I met while a member of CYSO. If I could go back and relive my moments with the orchestra, I would in a heartbeat.

Things like CYSO are such a rare gift and I was so fortunate to have the experience of being a member. I hope that my donation will, in some small part, help the organization out with its operating expenses, so that it can remain active and a haven to young Chicago-area musicians well into the future.