The Music & Youth Initiative has partnered with Clubs around the country to help start and maintain music programming. They’ve recently released a FREE summer activity kit that any Club can use! Keep reading to learn more.
Are you looking for fun, “Do It Yourself” activities that have a musical theme? We’ve got you covered!
Click here for our FREE resource to help get your youth members (regardless of skill level) participating in Music activities!
For everyone who is reading “free” and saying to themselves, “too good to be true,” let me tell you our story.
We are Music & Youth Initiative, and as our name implies, we love music and we love youth development!
Since 2004, we’ve been helping youth development organizations create after-school music programs. Nothing brings us more joy than when we see youth participants gain a sense of belonging while learning an instrument like the piano, guitar, or drums; or when they write an original song to express their emotions; or how performing on stage in front of friends and family boosts their self-confidence and self-esteem.
We also have a supportive network of youth development organizations that help us create and collect some really cool music programming ideas and resources. As a community, we’re helping each other by sharing best practices. And we’d like to share these opportunities with you!
For example, after hearing that Summer can be downright CRAZY, one of our new Boys & Girls Club partners asked us for our advice. Knowing that Summer has its challenges like longer days, influx of new participants, and skyrocketing daily attendance, we asked our network of partners what they recommended. Together, we came up with the “DIY Summer Activity Kit” a collection of music activities that are:
- Hands On: Help keep participants’ minds engaged and hands busy with a constructive project
- Accessible: Most ideas don’t require a high degree of musical skill/talent to participate
- Outside the Box: Not your standard music “lessons” or repetitive scales/exercises
- Take Time: Many projects take several days/weeks to complete, helping you get through the long, hot summer days
- Budget Friendly: Materials needed to run these activities range from $0-$150
Connect with us!
Are you already running a music program? Do you have youth who are making beats in the studio? Or have you always wanted to start a music program in your facility but just didn’t know how? We’d love to help!
- Join the Music Impact Network Facebook Group. A closed group/community supporting those who are impacting and empowering youth through music. A great place for live, real-time sharing of ideas and programs! www.facebook.com/groups/MusicImpactNetwork
- Download FREE Music Programming Resources. A library of everything you need to start or support an after-school music program. www.MusicImpactNetwork.org
How do you run music programs in your Club? Comment below or email us at ClubXBlog@bgca.org to share your story with the Movement!
