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 was able to offer a new grant at each Law Rocks show: The Music Matters grant. This grant, continuing in 2024, is given to a local nonprofit that supports youth music education in each of our U.S. tour cities. 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 2024 NYC Music Matters Grant Recipient: Willie Mae Rock Camp | Photo by Lawrence Sumulong | Courtesy of WMRC
We first awarded Willie Mae Rock Camp (WMRC) with a Music Matters grant in 2023. The organization integrates music, technology and STEM to empower girls and gender-expansive youth with the skills and confidence to thrive as creative leaders in a tech-driven future. Their motto? “Mess around. Find out.” Through hands-on, tuition-free, interdisciplinary music technology programs, WMRC empowers youth to gain the skills and confidence to thrive in the tech driven future. We are pleased to present this extraordinary organization with another Music Matters grant, and encourage our Law Rocks community to read on to learn more about the incredible work they do. We recently checked in with LaFrae Sci, Executive Director/Director of Artistic Programs for Willie Mae Rock Camp, who shared a bit more about the organization and some of its upcoming goals. You may remember LaFrae from her epic impromptu drum solo on stage at last year’s NYC show!
Willie Mae Rock Camp Executive Director, LaFrae Sci getting our NYC crowd hyped with a drum solo at the Eighth Annual Law Rocks NYC (2023) | Photo by Joe Jenkins
1) How have your mission and focus grown in recent years?
Founded in 2004, Willie Mae Rock Camp was among the first rock camps for girls in the U.S.
Over time, we have grown beyond rock-based instruction to year-round programs integrating music with technology and STEM. We now provide programs at over 15 sites throughout NYC in partnership with schools and community organizations.
We opened our creative sound lab in Brooklyn in 2021, which houses a wide collection of instruments, gear, and creative tech. In 2023 we launched a mobile lab to bring our hands-on sound lab experience to girls and gender-expansive youth citywide.
WMRC Summer Camp | Photo by Lawrence Sumulong | Courtesy of WMRC
2) What kind of impact does your organization have on today’s youth?
● We reach over 600 girls and gender-expansive youth ages 10-17 each year
● We center underrepresented voices and the majority of our students are youth of color
● We increase access by bringing our programs directly into schools and community sites
Tech skills are critical to students’ future success, yet STEM and tech-based learning remain unwelcoming to many young people, especially girls and gender-expansive youth of color.
We open new possibilities for girls and gender-expansive youth to express themselves while building creative and tech-based skills—with a specific focus on youth of color.
Through the laguage of music, our students increase their understanding of technology and their confidence to create with it. These transferable skills help prepare them to thrive as creators and innovators in a world being rapidly transformed by digital and analog technologies.
3) What are some upcoming initiatives you are looking forward to?
In our fourth year of successful program impact, we are launching a new advanced cohort that will explore the connections between music, science, and technology more deeply. We have also launched an alumni Fellowship program and offered paid internships.
WMRC Summer Camp | Photo by Lawrence Sumulong | Courtesy of WMRC
4) What is something a person reading this article could do to help your organization reach its goals?
It is a challenge to build community where the people in the position to help us most don’t have their own kids in our program. We do offer adult workshops, events, and open studio dates for the whole family, and we invite everyone to join us! We are the ONLY tuition-free, STEM-based music program in NYC that centers girls and gender-inclusive youth from marginalized backgrounds. We are ahead of philanthropic trends and need major donor and corporate support to meet the demand for our unique programming as we are a growth-stage social impact organization. Our goal is to raise 200k by the end of the calendar year. If anyone reading this would like to get involved, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Learn more about Willie Mae Rock Camp.