Project 440 helps young people use their interest in music to forge new pathways for themselves and ignite change in their communities. Doing Good is just one of the many ways we engage with students to achieve this mission. Doing Good is a 30-session intensive after-school entrepreneurial program that provides guidance to high school musicians who want to positively impact their communities. The unique curriculum challenges students to view their curiosity about the world as a window through which they can see the needs, gaps, and opportunities they are best equipped to address.
One of the results of Doing Good is the creation and implementation of community service projects. The second half of the curriculum focuses on developing and implementing these projects with students joining into groups to make meaningful change in their community. Check out the 2019-20 student projects!
Festival Ambiental
Through a multi-disciplinary and cross-genre live presentation to local youth, Festival Ambiental developed a program to educate young people about the mistreatment of the environment–providing young people with knowledge and tools to help our environment.
Finding Your Note
To prevent young people from spending their time in dangerous parts of their community, Finding Your Note provided an after-school program to allow young people to find passion and identity by learning about and experiencing different types of musical genres.
Generation Music+ (GM+)
With the guidance and oversight of their partner organization, Generation Music, GM+ developed a program for preschool students that included an interactive workshop and performance to bring students exposure to orchestral instruments and music.
New Melodies
New Melodies’ mission is to provide children diagnosed with mental illness a musical outlet, concentrating on instruments that are accessible from the onset, such as percussion, ukulele, and electric piano. New Melodies provided lesson plans and instruments to interested schools and music programs.
Kintan Silvany, a recent Doing Good graduate and member of Project 440’s Youth Advocacy Council, was interviewed to learn more about her experience in Doing Good.
Q: What was your project and what was the mission you aimed to accomplish?
A: I joined Generation Music for their second year and our mission was to teach music education at schools where kids have no access to it.
Q: How was your project meaningful to you?
A: I loved working with kids and teaching. It’s nice teaching the next generation about music so we can say that classical music isn’t dying!
Q: What was the most important skill/lesson you learned in Doing Good?
A: I learned that I wasn’t that bad at teaching and that my public speaking wasn’t as bad as I thought! It has definitely improved and without Doing Good, I have been as prepared.
Q: What was your favorite part about Doing Good?
A: My favorite part was meeting and working with new people. I also loved learning entrepreneurial skills which I can apply to scholarships.
Q: What is one thing you would tell a student who is thinking about participating in Doing Good?
A: Go for it! As a musician, learning more skills is a plus. You’ll get more money and you can have a side hustle.
Whether it’s through music performances, teaching, protecting our environment, or standing up for something they believe in, Project 440 aims to empower students to make meaningful change in their community. We need your support to help fund our students' service projects. Without it, none of this would be possible.
