STEM plus Arts = Learning Full STEAM ahead!

Your support matters!! Thank you for giving!!

Families in DC got funky with the fun, fresh musical approach of Jamaal Collier at a local Washington D.C. School. During a Family Night event, Jamaal used music to engage participants in literacy development activities that had them laughing, clapping and having a ball. Jamaal was welcomed to an atmosphere that was alive with benevolent, rambunctious vitality and the family and community energy present only increased as the evening went on.

Family Night participants were eager with anticipation, excited to hear what the artist had to share with them. Jamaal’s performance addressed how music is all around us, the significance of the culture of Hip Hop and its history. He showed how we do many things with a rhythm and our own unique style, like rhyming. He performed a few original songs, some parodies of popular Rap songs and invited everyone in the audience to create music with him.

Children and adults alike were alert and enthusiastic to share and participate in the call-and-response time near the end. Sometimes when Jamaal would ask questions of the little ones, their parents were so engaged that they would forget he’d asked the kids to respond and blurt out the answer themselves in their excitement. Jamaal had a wonderful time sharing with everyone and left the school with a great sense of gratitude for the power music has to connect us to one another and to our personal histories.

We want more of these moments. Our goal is to increase our community impact by 25% in 2016.  Last year we reached 89,700 people and in 2016 we hope to reach 115,000. 

Thank you for helping us make precious evenings like the Family Night described above possible!

If you connect with this vision or know a friend who would please consider donating, please share this report with friends and family, or simply mention Story Tapestries in conversation.  Know that your voice is having an enormous impact!