The Amy Winehouse Foundation (AWF) has made a generous donation to the Dreyfoos School of the Arts Foundation to establish the Amy’s Light fund. AWF’s mission is to support children and young adults in need through music therapy and music education, work to prevent the effects of drug and alcohol misuse on young people, and to support, inform, and inspire vulnerable and disadvantaged young people to help them reach their full potential.

Paul Rubin, a representative from the Amy Winehouse Foundation (AWF), said Dreyfoos was a perfect fit for AWF. “Amy was enrolled in a performing arts school in London, called Sylvia Young. Amy spent a lot of time in Miami and loved Florida. She has relatives in Boca. Her first impromptu gig was in Highland Beach where she sang and her cousin strummed along on guitar at the age of 12.”

Their initial donation of $50,000 to establish the Amy’s Light fund , which is designed to assist Dreyfoos music and musical theatre students who struggle to make ends meet. For many of our students, private lessons, musical instruments, travel to learning opportunities, or even basic fundamental needs, are out of reach. Through Amy’s Light, in memory of the late great singer and songwriter Amy Winehouse, we hope to help close that gap for those students.

The idea to create this fund at Dreyfoos stems from the values Amy possessed when she was alive. “It was one of Amy’s beliefs that she had to help the less fortunate that didn’t have the same advantages as she had. We know there are students at Dreyfoos that don’t have the funds they need for music lessons, trips, or even basic needs like food and clothing. Amy’s Light will give them the same advantages as other students.”

Paul believes that Dreyfoos students can be a part of Amy’s legacy “By doing the opposite of what Amy did with her life. By using her as an example of what can go wrong when you don’t deal with the issues at hand. Her music lives on and Amy’s Light can help inspire students at Dreyfoos to see that anything is achievable.”