Mark Muktoyuk was heartbroken when he thought he may have to shutter the Parent Rocker Organization Aurora, a nonprofit that helps kids in need access music education.

Muktoyuk grew up using music as a creative and emotional outlet through tough’s life circumstances. He knows, through his own experience and his daughter’s, how important arts education is for kids — especially those who can’t afford it. 

The possibility that he may have to shut down an organization keeping music education alive for kids at a time when music programs are being cut from schools due to dwindling budgets was agonizing, he said.

That’s when he ran into Atom, a musician equally passionate about music education. Atom suggested a benefit concert to help them get back on their feet.

At first, Muktoyuk said he was skeptical that they could get enough support to make a benefit concert work.

But sure enough — bands from across Colorado showed immediate enthusiasm for the concept, he said. 

“I was like ‘this event sounds great man, but it’s kind of a long shot,” said Muktoyuk, the group’s fundraising director. “Then (Atom) came back with a list of bands for two days (of concerts).”

The first of two upcoming benefit concerts for the organization will take place on April 21 from 12:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Wild Goose Saloon, which is located at 11160 S. Pikes Peak Dr. in Parker. The suggested donation is $10.

Since January 2015, the Parent Rocker Organization has partnered with School of Rock Aurora to loan hundreds of instruments and award more than $34,000 in music scholarships to students in need, according to a news release.

School of Rock is a performance-based music school that helps kids develop music skills, as well as experience playing in rock venues.

“(Music) is an area of release for kids through what can be really difficult years,” Muktoyuk said. “Having a place where you feel like you belong and can express yourself and find shared interests is invaluable.”

Muktoyuk, who joined the Parent Rocker Organization three years ago because of the effect music education has on him as a kid, has also seen his 13-year-old daughter thrive through music education, he said.

“Music just lives inside her,” he said of his daughter, Valentina, who joined School of Rock and found a community of people who share her love for music. “She doesn’t always express herself in words, but she can turn to music and it’s such a passion. It resonates with her soul.”

Not all kids have the financial means to join organizations like School of Rock, he said. And that is why he and others in his organization are pushing to keep Parent Rockers Organization alive, he said.

Muktoyuk is grateful for the “staggering” support and response from other musicians. It showed him how much people in the music industry are touched by music education as kids and want to pass it on to the next generation, he said. 

More information about the upcoming benefit concert and other ways to support Parent Rocker Organization can be found on its website.