The Fall 2022 Doing Good cohort at the December 19 Graduation. Photo credit: Kayla John/RJCPictures
Last month, we celebrated the accomplishments of our Doing Good students at the Fall Semester Graduation. Doing Good is a 25-session intensive after-school creative youth development program for high school musicians who want to positively impact their communities. Students learn transferable 21st-century skills. The curriculum challenges them 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. Students work in groups to formulate their idea. Each group receives $500 in seed funding to plan and implement a musically minded community-based service project under the guidance of Project 440 staff and teaching artists.
This was the first cohort since the start of the pandemic that was able to actualize their projects in person. It has been thrilling to see the students learn through this important aspect of this course and feel the satisfaction of seeing the impact of their semester-long planning. This cohort consisted of six groups, and projects addressed social issues around homelessness, violence, music education, community building, and career readiness. The groups presented their projects in the first two weeks of December at schools and community venues throughout the city. We are proud of the hard work put in by each member of this graduating class!
The Cozy Toes Project
Brielle, Daisia, Eriana, Samuel
Mission: To provide refuge and raise awareness about homelessness by creating a sense of community. The Cozy Toes Project offers a safe, community, and musical space for anybody. The Cozy Toes Project asked all participants at their event to donate a new pair of socks. The group distributed care packages that included a pair of socks and toiletries and performed live music.
Cook-in for Harmony
Charles, Cianni, De’Ayrah, Guyane, Haley, Hazel
Mission: Cook-in for Harmony strives to make a change by bringing youth together and raising awareness for violence prevention. We can change the narrative and prove that kids like us can come together, not fight or argue, and just have fun with each other. To come together with games, music, and amazing food it can start a new beginning for many.
Sharing our Sound
Ezra , Grace, Maya, Shaorui (Eric), Winni
Mission: Sharing our Sound brings joy, passion, and engagement to all youth by enhancing their musical experiences. Sharing our Sound strives to deliver music education to all students in the School District of Philadelphia by providing aid in any way possible: from writing simple fingerings to providing supplemental lessons for students that want extra help. We want to work with teachers as well to spread more music and more joy in as many schools as possible.
Strategic College Initiative
Joseph (Tom), Sandy, Sherry
Mission: Through professional assessments, the Strategic College Initiative aims to demonstrate how music can affect progress in STEAM (Science Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) fields while guiding high school students toward developing a professional portfolio.
Financial Association for People experiencing Homelessness (FAPH)
Kani, Khalidah, Laniyah, Madison, McKayla , Saniya, Serenity, Tahaja
Mission: The mission of FAPH is to create care packages for people experiencing homelessness and provide pamphlets with information about housing and much more.
INspire
Angelina, Jaylen , Khadijah, Taylor, Pia
Mission: INspire’s mission is to give teens different opportunities to explore possible outlets through the arts and music. We want to do this because we want to see kids our age become more comfortable with each other and be able to form a community.
Project 440 is excited to welcome a new cohort of Philadelphia high school students for the Spring Semester beginning February 6. Register today for Doing Good.