Anytime you find excellence in your community, it should be celebrated and supported. For years, the music program in the Mercer Island schools has been a model of what a school music program should be.

Its culmination, the Mercer Island High School Band, has always been a great source of community pride. The band is not only huge and inclusive, encompassing over a quarter of the student body; it is also disciplined and excellent.

But now the band is in desperate need of new uniforms, the result of normal wear and tear over many years, and performing in monsoon conditions (most memorably in the Rose Parade). Though we don’t have children in school, we are proud to contribute to the band to help buy new uniforms. We strongly urge Mercer Island to step up and generously support this symbol of community pride and excellence.

Everyone knows that these are tough economic times. But we can show our priorities with our monetary support of programs that enrich the lives of thousands of our children.

John and Ellen Hill