Mission statement: 

The mission of the organization is "for charitable and educational purposes, particularly to foster the preservation of Jazz as an American art form" ..... 

Specifically the Mount Airy Cultural Center, Inc. is organized to create a vehicle, through music, that will establish discipline, respect, and leadership. It endeavors to help young people develop proper attitudes necessary in becoming responsible adults and to instruct students individually in woodwind, brass, percussion and string instruments, with special emphasis on harmony and theory that will help develope concepts for improvisation. 

Excerpted and paraphrased from our bylaws.  

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History:

During the latter 1970's, Philadelphia alto saxophonist Anthony "Tony" Williams saw a need in the community to keep Jazz alive. While searching for a practice site (he originally used his public school facilities) - Mr. Hunter Bugg, a Black entrepreneur, owner / manager of the late Stenton Diner, was made aware of this problem, and graciously offered his establishment on Thursday evenings for rehearsals.

Tony Williams made use of his dual expertise as a professional musician and as an educator in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania school system to form the "Stenton Diner" Teenage Jazz Band with students from Germantown/Mt. Airy neighborhoods of Philadelphia. Together with a group of talented "home" musicians we built a cohesive program of musical instructors, coupled with academic, cultural, and social mentoring, which has produced many successful musicians in the area. 

More importantly, the program has helped produce well rounded young people, who are now leading productive lives in the community. This program became so popular that it grew from the initial twenty-five youngsters to approximately forty students within three months. After the Stenton Diner was demolished, the program suffered for the need of a new practice site. With new developments, the Mount Airy Cultural Center was established as a bona fide organization and incorporated in the state of Pennsylvania. 

This program became more intense, moving from the Stenton Diner area to the following locations: St. Michael's Lutheran Church, Waterview Recreation Center, Allen's Lane Recreational Center, Germantown Church of the Brethren, Oxford Presbyterian Church, Leeds Middle School, St. Luke's Episcopal Church, and now returning to the A.H. H. Lewis Middle School. 

 After many efforts, the attainment of the long-time goal of becoming a "not-for-profit" 501(c)3 organization was accomplished in 1997. 

Our thanks go to the many students who have returned to help us after graduation from college, the dedication of the faculty, the active participation of concerned parents and the aid of our many "Angels". The program would not succeed without this four-way cooperation.