March is National Music Therapy Month! Sparks was founded in 2016 to help children of inmates and other forced parental separation to develop important social and emotional skills through music therapy to address the barriers that parental separation brings. To celebrate 10 years of Sparks providing music therapy, we’d like to share with you the story of how the music therapy program came about, and especially how it proliferated during the challenging COVID-19 years:
Around 2014, Cynthia Smith, Sparks’ founder and Executive Director, met Amber Sarpy, a Board-Certified Music Therapist, at a school district conference. They briefly introduced themselves and exchanged business cards. In the spring of 2016, Amber reached out to Cynthia, who informed her about the persistent, challenging behaviors displayed by the children of inmates with whom Sparks was working, even though the children enjoyed participating in the music groups that Sparks had been offering. Cynthia let Amber know that Sparks was seeking to implement changes in the program.
When Sparks for Success was established in 2016, Amber proposed that Sparks initiate Therapeutic Drumming sessions in local schools. The goal of the sessions was to help students develop new behaviors by learning self-regulation skills, working as a group, and following directions, which would help them stay in school and learn more effectively in the classroom. As these sessions continued, Sparks received positive feedback from classroom teachers, school administrators, and even from the kids’ parents and caretakers. It became clear to us that Sparks was finally making a difference in the lives of the children being served.
Sparks commenced with 12 students in one Title 1 elementary school in Austin ISD in 2016. In the years leading up to COVID-19, Sparks grew to work with 67 students in several Austin ISD schools, doing both group music therapy and private music lessons.
With the onset of COVID-19, rather than dwindling, music therapy sessions flourished outside of the classroom in a virtual format. By 2023-24, Sparks was serving 93 students in 16 schools across the school districts of Austin, Elgin, Manor, and San Marcos. As of 2025, Sparks has worked with nearly 1,000 students! What a milestone!
Thank you to everyone who has supported Sparks during these first 10 years – the success of the music therapy program has been made possible because of your generous giving.
If you would like to support the ongoing work of Sparks’ music therapy program in our 10th year:
