To follow up on the outreach Kirk in the Hills does with the city of Pontiac, we filmed a special event hosted at the church, the 5th annual Green Bucket 5k Run. This 5k supports Accent Pontiac — a non-profit organization based in Pontiac with a mission to provide Pontiac's youth access to intensive and consistent music making.

The program was launched by Kirk in the Hills in 2016 and serves over 250 students from 2nd to 9th grade. In addition to regular programming, Accent Pontiac hosts field trips, assemblies, guest artist performances, and a summer program, and reaches over 1000 students with exposure to new musical experiences.

Accent Pontiac began its eighth year of programming in September 2023 with programming at Pontiac Middle School, Pontiac High School, Walt Whitman Elementary School, Alcott Elementary School, Herrington Elementary School, International Language Academy (ILA), International Technology Academy (ITA), and more.

President, Barbara Littleton, and executive director, Sommer Dawson, were on hand to tell us about the event and share the Accent Pontiac story.

To conclude the event, the Accent Pontiac students put on a music performance showcasing the program’s impact.