Instruments used by Oregon Music Hall of Fame to fund music education, scholarships were stolen in Portland last week. The estimated loss totalled over $130,000. The nonprofit organization planned to auction off the instruments to support college scholarships and its childhood arts programming.
A nonprofit dedicated to the preservation of Oregon’s musical heritage has received a setback as a result of the 70 autographed guitars being stolen from a storage locker.
The Hall of Fame said it has given 63 scholarships totaling $115,500 to music students since 2007. The majority of those funds came from selling signed guitars, according to the nonprofit.
While perhaps best known for its annual induction ceremony honoring notable Oregon artists, albums, producers and impresarios, the nonprofit also presents musical assemblies to Oregon and southwest Washington youth and provides four $2,500 scholarships to college-bound students each year.
It appears that the group was not specifically targeted at a Public Storage facility in Portland. The break-in happened on Feb. 20 where a number of other units were broken into.
Pawn shops are being asked to be vigilant and report autographed guitars. An award is being held for information that leads to an arrest and return of the items.
