Gifted Guitars

Gifted Guitars An Illinois 501(c)3 certified Not for Profit corporation. Tax deductible! Our founder, Stew Campbell, has been an avid guitarist for his entire life.

Giving the Gift of Music through Charitable Gifts of guitars free of charge to young people wanting to learn to play but for whom affording an instrument is out of the budget. As a hobby he has enjoyed restoring and refurbishing guitars and decided he'd take his personal interest and use it to do some good in the world by giving the gift of music to those that can't necessarily afford to buy a guitar.

Working on the final finishing of a very special guitar that will be used to generate funding for Gifted Guitars. The c...
06/13/2026

Working on the final finishing of a very special guitar that will be used to generate funding for Gifted Guitars. The comic book style art on this guitar was done by Thomas Maloney who is a tattoo artist.

This guitar will have upgraded “blackout” hardware and some hot humbucker pickups along with a custom wiring harness all to make it a player not just a displayer!

Because Gifted Guitars is a 501(c)(3) organization, your winning bid will be tax deductible!

If you’re interested in bidding on this totally one of a kind axe, send us a message!

How to Apply To Receive a Gifted Guitar:The Gifted Guitars Foundation exists to provide the gift of music to kids ages g...
06/08/2026

How to Apply To Receive a Gifted Guitar:

The Gifted Guitars Foundation exists to provide the gift of music to kids ages generally 8-18 years old who are either already playing guitar or want to learn, but whose family doesn't have the financial means to fund the purchase of a personal guitar for the child.

To apply to receive a Gifted Guitar, simply use the Send Message function to send us a message that contains:
- Your name, address and phone number
- Your child's name, age and grade in school
- Your child's experience level with the guitar
- Type of guitar wanted (electric, acoustic, bass)
- A brief statement that explains why you're applying to receive a guitar.

From there we will contact you back with some additional questions and set a date and time to have you come pick up the guitar. Most parents surprise their kids with the guitar - when they come to pick it up, the kid doesn't know that's why they are there! Which makes for a lot of fun!

Frequently Asked Questions:
- How difficult is it to qualify? Not at all, we work from a position of trust. If you have shared honestly with us, we will, in 90% of the cases, provide a guitar for you.
- Do you need a financial statement or need statement? No, just a brief explanation of your situation will suffice.
- My kid wants an electric guitar - do you provide an amplifier? Yes, generally speaking we do, provided we have one in stock.
- Are these used instruments? Yes, more than 90% are used. Occasionally when we can find new guitars on a close out, we will buy them to give away, but expect your child's guitar to show signs of wear.
- Where do we pick up the guitar? We generally have you pick them up at Gifted Guitar's "headquarters" which is a home in the northern suburb of Antioch IL.
- What happens if my child decides he/she doesn't like guitar? Simply return it to us - send us a message and we will come get it.

Another fun guitar gifting this weekend! Meet Citlalli! She is 18 and a recent high school graduate! She started taki...
06/07/2026

Another fun guitar gifting this weekend! Meet Citlalli! She is 18 and a recent high school graduate! She started taking guitar lessons at school this past fall and has fallen in love with the instrument but didn’t have one of her own. We hooked her up with this beautiful Fender acoustic guitar in a great hard shell case, and she also got some free guitar learning books from our “library” of donated guitar books. She’s looking forward to becoming a great guitarist!

This was guitar #115 since the program began in 2024! We’re coming up on our second anniversary!

This community and our donors make this all possible!

Our focus is on providing free guitars to kids ages 8-18. To apply for a Gifted Guitar, simply send us a message with the kid’s name and age, and your name, address and phone number along with a brief statement as to why you’re applying to receive a guitar. We fulfill more than 95% of requests!

Citlalli will do great things and we’re so happy to have given her this start!

Hey everyone, meet Andrik! Andrik is 8 and is in love with playing guitar, and got gifted Guitar #114 (24th in 2026!)....
05/24/2026

Hey everyone, meet Andrik! Andrik is 8 and is in love with playing guitar, and got gifted Guitar #114 (24th in 2026!). He’s going to be taking lessons and well, starting at 8 years old will serve him well to being an expert guitarist in his teens!

We seek to give the gift of music to kids ages 8 to 18 (and can go as young as 5) in the form of free guitars of all kinds. We know that life is expensive especially these days, which means spending a few hundred on a guitar for your kid is something that over-stresses the budget. If you have or know of an aspiring kid who wants a guitar but the purchase of one is out of reach for the family, well, we're the answer you're looking for. To apply, parents should just send us a message with their name, address and phone; their kid's name, age, grade in school, guitar experience level, right or left handed, and then a brief statement that explains why you're applying to receive a guitar.

We run on donated used gear that we refurbish. If you have a guitar of any kind, or an amp, case, etc, that you’re not using and you’d like to donate, please send us a message and we will coordinate pickup.

As always, we also rely on your financial support as well. Please consider supporting us with your financial donations. We are a 501(c)(3) recognized charity. Where does the money get used? Well - $10.00 funds a set of strings (which every guitar gets), $20 an electric guitar or acoustic guitar soft case (every guitar goes out in a case!), $50 an amplifier (every electric goes out with an amp!), $100 a brand new guitar. $1000 funds 20 guitars refurbished and supplied to kids (we spend an average of $50 per guitar we give away), and $5000 funds us for most of a year. You can donate by going to our Go Fund Me page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/gifted-guitars-giving-the-gift-of-music; or by Venmo or Zelle - just send us a message and we will share our Venmo or Zelle links

Let’s keep it going! Thank you for supporting Gifted Guitars!

A cool moment from yesterday's Round Lake High School Guitar Club Showcase was seeing one of my previous Gifted Guitars ...
05/12/2026

A cool moment from yesterday's Round Lake High School Guitar Club Showcase was seeing one of my previous Gifted Guitars recipients playing bass in the band on one of the numbers! This is Anthony and he got his first bass from Gifted Guitars last year!

Well that doesn’t get any better! Since we started Gifted Guitars 22 months ago, I have dreamed of having an education ...
05/12/2026

Well that doesn’t get any better! Since we started Gifted Guitars 22 months ago, I have dreamed of having an education connection where we could supply several kids with the guitars of their dreams. Mission accomplished today thanks to teachers Lou Catalan and Carolyn Cocoran at Round Lake High School. Lou … I mean Mr Catalan, runs the after school Guitar Club activity. They started in spring semester of 2025 and this was their first showcase concert! They drew a crowd of easily 100 or more, put on a 10-song set list and then the big surprise!

Lou called me up to the stage and we proceed to give away 6 beautiful electric guitars to 6 deserving and talented high school kids! The music they played was amazing and even better was the show of support from their friends and families in the audience.

We were deeply honored to be given the privilege to give these kids their dream axes. It is moments like this that make me realize we’re doing the right thing at Gifted Guitars.

I’ll spare the usual plea for donations, you know we run on them and more than ever we need monetary support. You know what to do and if you don’t, send us a message.

But I will say we want to give away more guitars, especially acoustics! So reach out and apply! As of today we have given away 113 guitars! And there are plenty more in our inventory!

A million more thanks to Lou and Carolyn for finding us, engaging us and helping us make this happen. You’re the best!! Super educators at their finest!

My heart is full. I love this community! Let’s keep it going!!

Exciting day on tap! Gifted Guitars is giving SIX guitars away to lucky high school students enrolled in a local high s...
05/11/2026

Exciting day on tap! Gifted Guitars is giving SIX guitars away to lucky high school students enrolled in a local high school’s after school music program! Stay tuned for more!!

Another week and another smiling kid with their “new to them” guitar! Guitar #107 went to this girl (name withheld at ...
05/03/2026

Another week and another smiling kid with their “new to them” guitar! Guitar #107 went to this girl (name withheld at parent request) who has been playing piano for several years and plays sax in school band. She will take to guitar like a baby duck tales to water! This beautiful Washburn Oscar Schmidt guitar was part of the inventory we acquired from another guitar charity Free Guitars for Future Stars, that shut down last year - a move that was funded by the generosity of our financial donors.

We seek to give the gift of music to kids ages 8 to 18 (and can go as young as 5) in the form of free guitars of all kinds. We know that life is expensive especially these days, which means spending a few hundred on guitar for your kid is something that over-stresses the budget. If you have or know of an aspiring kid who wants a guitar but the purchase of one is out of reach for the family, well, we're the answer you're looking for. To apply, parents should just send us a message with your name, address and phone; your kid's name, age, grade in school, guitar experience level, right or left handed, and then a brief statement that explains why you're applying to receive a guitar.

And while we currently have a very full inventory, there will always be more kids needing guitars! If you have a guitar of any kind, or an amp, case, etc, that you’re not using and you’d like to donate, please send us a message and we will coordinate pickup.

As always, we also rely on your financial support as well. Please consider supporting us with your financial donations. We are a 501(c)(3) recognized charity. Where does the money get used? Well - $10.00 funds a set of strings (which every guitar gets), $20 an electric guitar or acoustic guitar soft case (every guitar goes out in a case!), $50 an amplifier (every electric goes out with an amp!), $100 a brand new guitar. $1000 funds 20 guitars refurbished and supplied to kids (we spend an average of $50 per guitar we give away), and $5000 funds us for most of a year. You can donate by going to our Go Fund Me page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/gifted-guitars-giving-the-gift-of-music; or by Venmo or Zelle - just send us a message and we will share our Venmo or Zelle links!

Hey Gifted Guitars Community, meet Neeraja! Neeraja is 15 years old and has been playing acoustic guitar for a few year...
04/20/2026

Hey Gifted Guitars Community, meet Neeraja! Neeraja is 15 years old and has been playing acoustic guitar for a few years, but is really into jazz and funk music where bass guitar features prominently, so she's been teaching herself how to play bass on the first 4 strings of her acoustic guitar. We hooked her up yesterday with this gorgeous and cool Ibanez Gio Mikro bass - it's a bit shorter scale than a standard bass, great for people with smaller hands. Many thanks to our donor Wendy for this axe. Sent it home with her with a Fender amp, case, cord, stand, the works! She's going to do amazing things with this!

We seek to give the gift of music to kids ages 8 to 18 (and can go as young as 5) in the form of free guitars of all kinds. We know that life is expensive especially these days, which means spending a few hundred on guitar for your kid is something that over-stresses the budget. If you have or know of an aspiring kid who wants a guitar but the purchase of one is out of reach for the family, well, we're the answer you're looking for. Due to the generosity of the community, our "warehouse" (aka "Stew's Basement") is stuffed with axes that desperately want to be loved and played again! To apply, parents should just send us a message with your name, address and phone; your kid's name, age, grade in school, guitar experience level, right or left handed, and then a brief statement that explains why you're applying to receive a guitar.

And to our dear community: thank you, thank YOU, THANK YOU! In the past 4 weeks you have donated more than 20 guitars, more than 8 amps, 7 cases, boxes of cords and cables, and more! If you have a guitar of any kind, or an amp, case, etc, please send us a message and we will coordinate pickup.

As always, we also rely on your financial support as well. Please consider supporting us with your financial donations. We are a 501(c)(3) recognized charity. Where does the money get used? Well - $10.00 funds a set of strings (which every guitar gets), $20 an electric guitar or acoustic guitar soft case (every guitar goes out in a case!), $50 an amplifier (every electric goes out with an amp!), $100 a brand new guitar. $1000 funds 20 guitars refurbished and supplied to kids (we spend an average of $50 per guitar we give away), and $5000 funds us for most of a year. You can donate by going to our Go Fund Me page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/gifted-guitars-giving-the-gift-of-music; or by Venmo or Zelle - just send us a message and we will share our Venmo or Zelle links!

About a month ago we posted that someone had asked us if we worked with band instruments in the same way we do with guit...
04/19/2026

About a month ago we posted that someone had asked us if we worked with band instruments in the same way we do with guitars. Her son needed a tenor saxophone and they couldn’t afford one. We don’t deal with instruments other than guitars because we don’t have the tools, facilities and skills necessary to repair them. BUT … the one thing we do have is an awesome community so we said we would help out by using our social media to see if someone had one they would be willing to give away.

We made the post, and a few weeks later, one of our volunteers, a wonderful gent I’ll call “Brian the Amp Guy” (he is our volunteer that fixes amps that are donated in less than working condition - without cost!) let me know that his son had one! Brian dropped it off yesterday and I drove it out to the family! Meet Sebastian! He is about 12 years old and plays tenor sax in school band but until yesterday, didn’t have his own horn to practice with. And he has that smile that comes with a wish made true!

The best part of the Gifted Guitars experiment is the community! People truly do care and want to help each other!

Address

1272 Goldfinch Lane
Antioch, IL
60002

Telephone

(847)8336349

Website

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