Help me go to Juilliard!

Thanks for coming to my YouCaring page!

My name is William Franklyn Leathers, and I was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

I've been playing the piano since the age of four, and when I was 12 years old, I became the

youngest trumpeter accepted into the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra, as well as the Halton

Mississauga Youth Orchestra. So it was a dream come true for me when I received my

acceptance letter to The Juilliard School, since I'm one of only three trumpeters that were

accepted to Juilliard this year.

The biggest challenge for me, right now, is being able to cover tuition and housing

expenses. My parents are doing their best, but right now we're in a bit of a funding

shortfall. The total cost for Juilliard is $71,000 in US dollars per year for four years,

which comes out to roughly $91,000 every year in Canadian dollars. We've been able to put

together about $25,500 so far, and unfortunately scholarships and grants are harder to come

by as an international student. So I'm raising money to at least cover the first year, and

we'll see where it goes from there.

I've wanted to go to Juilliard for as long as I can remember, and I'll never forget the look

on my parents' face when we opened the acceptance letter. But the reality is, there's a

pretty big gap between what our family can come up with, and what it costs for tuition,

housing, and books. So if you can find it in your heart to help, my family and I would

appreciate it so much.

Thanks again, and I hope to make everyone proud!