Organizational Background

In 2004, Music Changing Lives (MCL), became a 501(c)3 non-profit afterschool enrichment program, working to motivate students to become civically engaged, socially aware, and stay in school while developing their artistic talents. MCL’s mission is to offer the highest quality music and art enrichment programs paired with academic support to underprivileged and vulnerable youth at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. The Changing Lives Showcase offers a variety of classes to aspiring artists including guitar, piano, drums, dance, audio production and engineering, recording classes, disc jockey, and visual art instruction coupled with tutoring, financial literacy, and civic engagement. MCL fuses music and art programs with community issues to awaken the mind of youth to become civically engaged and community conscious. Ongoing creative engagement activities increase connection, self-reflection, self-awareness, confidence among youth, and hope for their futures. These positive mental health impacts increase graduation rates, reduce incidences of crime, and develop healthy, productive citizens. In 2020, MCL started incorporating meditation classes and in-person mental wellness workshops as part of their programming.