The beloved shop, which was featured in an  short  last year, repairs students鈥� school instruments across the district: taking in, fixing up and and sending back school pianos, tubas and drum sets on a daily basis.

It鈥檚 been operating for 65 years, and now the shop needs to raise $15 million to ensure it keeps functioning well into the future, said Ben Proudfoot, who co-directed the Academy Award-winning documentary about the shop and co-chairs its fundraising campaign. 

This month, the Chuck Lorre Family Foundation gave the shop a big start on its ambitious goal, with a $1 million gift. 

And to celebrate, cellist Yo-Yo Ma visited and played a couple riffs at a party held in the shop鈥檚 slightly ramshackle, downtown L.A. warehouse digs.  

鈥淭hat鈥檚 the thing with this particular project, it鈥檚 hard to argue with,鈥� explained documentary co-director Proudfoot, who is also campaign committee co-chair for the repair shop鈥檚 fundraising efforts; and why it attracts such support. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just really an important thing.鈥�

And the shop itself, a windowless warehouse encircled by a security fence, is due for an upgrade. 

Surrounded by blocks of choking traffic and not so far from skid row, the shop鈥檚 entrance is marked by a pair of fireproof doors and an unassuming sign reading  鈥淢usical Instrument Repair.鈥�

Many people had no idea about the shop, and even those who used it didn鈥檛 quite grasp its significance, said Proudfoot. 

But what stood out to him was that it was the last of its kind. 

The country鈥檚 second-largest district is the only one left where students could have full access to music education without spending their own families鈥� money, Proudfoot said. That鈥檚 in part due to the repair shop that keeps their instruments working.   

That鈥檚 a big deal for a school district where about 80% of students live in poverty.

Proudfoot said music education is important for all students, not just the ones particularly wealthy, lucky, or skillful.

鈥淵ou learn discipline, you learn to listen, you learn you play a part in a whole,鈥� Proudfoot said. 鈥淭here are so many great lessons in music education.鈥�

But Proudfoot said he noticed immediately why the shop needed help. There weren鈥檛 enough employees to cover the work. Only a dozen district employees were tasked with repairing and maintaining about 130,000 school instruments.

Amid the pandemic, L.A. Unified used federal relief money to purchase roughly 32,000 new musical instruments for students. The repair shop was busier than ever. 

With many employees on the verge of retirement, the shop needed publicity to bring in skilled technicians or job seekers willing to learn. 

So, Proudfoot and co-director Kris Bowers decided to put their filmmaking skills to use to help the shop. The plan worked, with the documentary garnering massive national attention 鈥� and also winning an Oscar.  

Now the pair is helping with fundraising for the shop. Proudfoot said 90% of the money raised will go to apprentice programs to train the next generation of repair shop workers.

As an extra incentive to get big donors, sections of the repair shop can be named in their honor or for their loved ones. 

The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation was the first to make a donation; now a new sign in the repair shop reads 鈥淭he Lorre Family Strings Department鈥� in honor of their donation. 

That $1 million is more than all of the other donations thus far combined, and will allow the district to begin training the next generation of repair shop workers. 

To make the celebration even more spectacular, the students and faculty got a visit from cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who underscored the shop鈥檚 importance. 

鈥淭he young people that are getting these instruments, they will probably see the world in the year 2100,鈥� Ma  鈥淲e may not see that world, but we can help make it possible that world is actually a good world.鈥� 

Proudfoot said the best part of fundraising is seeing small donations from over 30 states where people have no connection to the shop, but feel compelled to help in any way they can. 

Those small donations, added to the $1 million, have brought the total to $1.7 million in less than a year. 

Proudfoot said Ma was no different, and getting him to come to the event was as simple as showing him the documentary about the shop. 

鈥淲e told him, 鈥楧o you want the little girls in this film to have a violin or not?,鈥欌�� Proudfoot said. 鈥淚f you do, then you gotta show up. That鈥檚 our campaign.鈥� 

This article is part of a collaboration between 社区黑料 and the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.