Rock For Kids is a remarkable non-profit that offers year-round music classes to homeless and underprivileged youth in the Chicago area, providing a stable environment to help kids develop musical, academic and social skills and build self-esteem.  Music education is vital to every kids cognitive development, creativity, and confidence, not to mention how much fun playing an instrument can be, and those benefits are especially important for children who are facing enormous challenges at a young age.  And as arts and music programs continue to struggle in public schools across the country, it’s reassuring to know programs like Rock For Kids exist to play such a critical role.  While I no longer play the recorder that I struggled to master in 3rd grade, music is still a huge part of my life as a singer, and those early lessons undoubtedly helped me develop as a learner and a human.

To provide access to as many children as possible, Youth Jam programming, created by Rock For Kids, takes the music classroom to Chicago schools, after-school programs homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters and Chicago Park District Sites.  In addition to providing curriculum, teachers, instruments and facilitating classes, Rock For Kids and Youth Jam give kids the chance to perform in a variety of public and professional venues throughout the year.  Find out what you can do to help support Rock For Kids by using the action link below.