25,000 Youth Reached in 15 Years!

Create Now is proud that  we have provided our arts programs to over 25,000 of the most vulnerable kids in our community. Thank you for your support!

 

Substance abuse not only destroys families and lives, it's an economic drain. As many as 75% of people involved in the criminal justice system are addicted to or misuse alcohol and drugs. Our youth are in need of help, so Create Now has partnered with Phoenix House in Lake View Terrace to provide a Guitar Workshop taught by mentor Mike Mallen, who has played guitar since he was ten and was an opening act for Bruce Springsteen. Mike has toured nationally several times.  

 

Every Saturday afternoon, groups of girls, and then boys, gather with Mike to learn how to play guitars that Create Now has loaned out. They are instructed on the proper way to hold the instrument and how to strum chords. The kids love it!  

 

Earnest M. said, "It's awesome. Mike's a really good teacher. I wish he'd come more often!"

Katharine C. said, "The class has helped me find myself."

Mike loves the workshop as much as the kids do. "Teaching these kids has been a very rewarding experience for me. I'm looking forward to continue helping give them definite goals that they can achieve."

John Morabito, Music Director at Phoenix House, said, "Thanks to Create Now and their awareness of Phoenix House's needs, our kids have benefited immensely from their Graphic/ Web design and Job Readiness Workshops, Creative Writing Workshops, as well as Michael Mallen's Guitar Workshop." 

The Guitar Workshop is so popular that there is a waiting list of kids who want to get into the class. However, that means more guitars are needed. John Kuhns, a luthier and owner of American Timbre donated three custom-made electric guitars to Create Now, but we need more, including acoustic ones. If you have a guitar that you would like to donate, please contact us at (213) 747-2777 or send an email to: donations@createnow.org.

 

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