An evening of cross-generation music groups aims to pay big dividends in coming years.

At 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16, the Sequim Community Orchestra hosts a Christmas concert at the Sequim’s Elk’s Lodge, with funds raised benefiting the Strings Kids program at Helen Haller elementary and Sequim middle schools.

The Strings Kids students and parents also are hosting a bake sale as part of the event.

In addition to the concert, partly performed by both the orchestra and the students playing together, the Beta Nu Chapter (Sequim) of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International will present a $4,000 Community Education Grant in support of the Strings Kids program during a short intermission.

Strings Kids is an after-school program providing stringed instrument education to the students of the Sequim School District. Until the beginning of this program, there had been no such option for students in Sequim in the public school system.

The orchestra funds the program through grants, donations and fundraisers. Last year, the parents of the students formed a fundraising group to further assist in raising funds to pay for the program.

The Sequim School District provides classroom space for the classes, but all materials and instruction are provided through the Sequim Community Orchestra. For more information, call 460-7368.