A key component of Law Rocks’ mission is to promote music education for underserved youth. In 2023, due to our increased sponsorship and fundraising, Law Rocks has been able to offer a new grant at each Law Rocks show: The Music Matters grant. This grant is given to a local nonprofit that supports youth music education. Omi Crawford, director of Law Rocks, says of the grant initiative:
“Since our 2009 founding, Law Rocks has supported hundreds of incredible nonprofits, with an emphasis on youth music education organizations. The Music Matters grant is a natural evolution of our mission and a chance to formalize our support of amazing music education nonprofits across the country.”
Our first ever recipient of the Music Matters grant was Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA), who received the grant at our 12th Annual Law Rocks Los Angeles show. Law Rocks was introduced to HOLA through the band The Nuisance, who selected the organization as their designated nonprofit. Through their fundraising, The Nuisance was able to raise over $10,000 for HOLA, separate from the $5,000 Music Matters Grant given by Law Rocks.
To make the inaugural Music Matters grant even more special, three bands featuring young musicians from HOLA opened our Saturday night show at the Whiskey a Go Go on March 11, 2023. It was exciting to see the work of HOLA in action. For some of these students, it was their first ever live show— how many musicians can say their first gig was at the famed Whisky a Go Go?
Young musicians from Heart of Los Angeles opening The 12th Annual Law Rocks Los Angeles’ Saturday night show (2023)
Law Rocks is thrilled to be able to increase our support for amazing nonprofits like Heart of Los Angeles through the Music Matters grant. We are also happy to share the important work of HOLA with the Law Rocks community. Keep on reading for our spotlight interview with Krystal Giraldes, Annual Giving & Social Media Coordinator for Heart of Los Angeles.
1) Can you tell us a little about the history of your nonprofit, as well as its mission and focus?
Heart of Los Angeles was founded in 1989, originally operating out of the basement of Immanuel Presbyterian Church on Wilshire Blvd. What started as just five kids and a single basketball has steadily evolved into an integrated service after-school youth center, running out of two campuses across Los Angeles and able to provide academic support, visual arts and music classes, college and career readiness, health and wellness, and family services. Our goal is to help young people overcome barriers through exceptional, free, integrated programs and personalized guidance in a trusted, nurturing environment. In 2021, we expanded our program offerings to both Central and now South Central LA in pursuit of a Los Angeles in which every young person has the opportunity to realize their full potential.
2) What is the best example of the way you’ve seen your organization’s work make a difference?
Our youth development pedagogy involves meeting students where they are and providing dynamic, individualized support. If a student is struggling in math, we provide no-cost tutoring until their grades are up. If parents need a translator during parent-teacher conferences, we’re there as advocates. When kids are looking for ways to invest in themselves and their futures, we have a myriad of visual arts, music, and STEM-focused programs that allow kids to learn on their terms. From seeing our youngest students discover new passions in music and the arts to watching first-generation students get into their dream schools with the scholarships to afford it, we’re constantly reminded that when given the opportunities there’s no limit to what our students can achieve.
3) What are some upcoming initiatives that you are planning for?
In 2021, we expanded our program offerings, putting down new roots in Augustus Hawkins Nature Park and schools across South Central in collaboration with the Black Student Achievement Plan: Humanizing Education for Equitable Transformation initiative, and Watts through a collaboration with WLCAC. We believe that every child, regardless of zip code or socioeconomic status, deserves access to the same academic and enrichment resources as peers from well-off neighborhoods. We will continue to listen to and grow partnerships with the people doing great work in these communities so we can respond to the unique needs of each neighborhood.
4) What is the greatest challenge your organization faces?
Each of our programs has a variety of unique challenges. In our College and Career Success department, we’re constantly working to ensure our scholarship funds stay filled. We send 75 first-generation college students to school each year with over 300 alumni in colleges across the country, most of whom receive financial aid from us throughout their entire collegiate journey adding up to over one million dollars each year. In our SciArts, Visual Arts, and music classes we work hard to provide equipment of the highest possible quality so our students can experience new technologies, equipment, and instruments. Across all programs we’re also faced with the difficult task of making sure class sizes remain small and access to one-on-one support is accessible to all students to give them the highest possible chance of success.
5) What does the power of music mean to you?
The power of music is limitless and we see it in the way it inspires our students every day. Sophia and Miah, HOLA third graders, gained self-confidence through the experience of their first ever concert performance; thirteen-year-old Edge and Ben, an HOLA Music Studios’ Jazz Instructor, formed a tight-knit friendship through their experience in the Intergenerational Big Band; and as we introduce a round of beginning musicians to new instruments each year we watch the spark of a passion for music light up their eyes. Music is a place where our students can escape, cultivate their creativity, and learn lifelong skills they’ll take with them when they leave HOLA.
6) How will the Music Matters grant be used?
The Music Matters grant will provide instruments to students, support HOLA’s recording studio for our young artists looking to publish their work, get students prepared for their 20+ performances annually at venues such as Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl, and make sure that every Heart of Los Angeles student has the tools they need to get involved with the power of music.
You can find more about Heart of Los Angeles here.