Innovative approach to building confidence
It’s nearly 8:00 on a warm June evening, but 6-year-old Charlotte isn’t showing signs of slowing down. She’s the first volunteer to step to the front of the music production class, eager to share her name in American Sign Language with her 12 fellow students.
ASL is not a typical activity in a class on music production, but few things about Greater Hope Restoration Ministries can be described as typical.
Under the guidance of music instructors Candace Walker and Salim Graham, each of the children’s sign-language motions are converted to tonal chords. Then, against a click track, each of the kids plunks out a melody on a keyboard using those samples. The result is a two-bar music track as unique as the child who created it.
“When you can see yourself in the music, and your name is literally part of the creative process, it motivates you to see what else is possible,” Walker says.
While many budget-strapped schools have been forced to ration or even eliminate traditional music classes, Greater Hope’s summer program gives students access to complex concepts of music theory in fun, accessible ways.
Music is only one aspect of the curriculum. Over the course of six weeks, children will take part in video editing, podcasting, dance and even puppeteering classes.
Dr. Cheryl Jones-Ross, who founded Greater Hope Restoration Ministries in 2014, believes that there is power in introducing children to all forms of art and self-expression.
“We believe in helping our kids find a purpose,” Jones-Ross says. “These kids don’t know what their gifts are, or don’t know what they’re interested in, until they are introduced to them.”
As a first-time recipient of a United Way grant, Jones-Ross was able to make the summer program accessible to more children. The timing couldn’t have been more fortuitous. Earlier in the year, Greater Hope Restoration Ministries was able to find a new home at the Boys & Girls Club in Carnegie, which offers a variety of spaces to accommodate various classes.