Press
11.11.00
Horizons DJ Project Introduction
by Jeff Feinman & William Greenfield
The Horizons Unlimited DJ Project
contact:
Jeff Feinman
Horizons Unlimited
440 Potrero Ave. San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 487-6714
jeff@theDJproject.com
©2000
The Horizons Unlimited DJ Project is a non-profit, grassroots program
that educates and empowers low-income youth through music and DJ'ing
(disc jockeying). This project-driven program uses music and the attraction
of popular urban culture to open a dialog with our youth allies about
the imagery and issues that surround us. With music as a springboard,
the Horizons Unlimited DJ Project will foster critical consciousness
through interactive learning, art-making, and youth leadership.
The DJ Project launched in November, 2000 and currently seeks tax-deductible
donations of cash, computers, software, musical instruments, goods
and services. We eagerly welcome community participation and creative
ideas.
The Philosophy
The underlying philosophy of the DJ Project is that creative expression
and critical thinking nurture self-esteem and empowerment. Given leadership
opportunities within a youth-driven structure, we believe young people
will make the right choices.
Music as a Motivator
The students who attend school in this district come from families
whose cultural richness is one of the Bay Area's greatest strengths,
and where music is a central force.
Yet to a large degree, school music programs are either underfunded,
being eliminated, or don't validate the music youth listen to today.
For these youth, this music speaks to them and is the heart of their
identity, possessing incredible power to motivate change.
The DJ Project proposes a union between those who believe art can
raise consciousness, youth who are hungry for validation and creative
educational experiences, and a community in need of a safe, healthy
environment for its young adults.
An Innovative Approach
This novel program utilizes the language these young people are familiar
with and respond to -- popular urban music and culture (hip-hop, visual
arts, dance, etc.)
Through music and technology workshops, participants will learn to
express themselves constructively, to use teamwork, and to become
leaders.
They will also learn practical skills in career and business planning,
music technology, music recording and computers.
The program espouses tolerance for diversity, non-violent conflict
resolution and community service. By discussing and examining the
issues of popular urban culture, we hope to awaken the political consciousness
that leads to community building.
The well-rounded program consists of three core elements:
1) Education through Music
Learning Music
Aside from analyzing and critiquing contemporary music, participants
will learn how to DJ (disk jockey), write and perform music and raps,
write poetry, keep journals and express themselves visually through
collage and graphic/web design.
They will be encouraged to explore and respond to community issues
through positive artistic messages and events.
The music will be supplemented by images and sounds drawn from other
sources of popular culture such as magazines, film, television and
the Internet.
Positive Messages and a World View
In addition to musical expression, participating youth will be encouraged
to look beyond their block and broaden their perspective through the
study of world music, world cultures, current events, history, geography
and language.
Our workshop curriculum will pay special attention to the recurring
themes in urban music such as materialism, police brutality, sexuality
and concepts of gender.
Computers and the Internet
Our program will be equipped with a computer lab and high-speed Internet
access to facilitate research that complements the participants' musical
explorations.
The students will also gain invaluable computer experience to become
active participants in new media. They will learn how to create their
own messages and control their own representation.
2) Career Building, Teamwork and Leadership, and Business Incubator
Career Building and Resource Library
Youth participants will research different careers in the music industry
and related fields.
They will assist in building a Resource Library at Horizons where
youth from throughout the city can come to explore music school options,
music career opportunities and job listings.
The DJ Project youth team will also produce a "Music Career Day"
for city-wide youth, where they will learn valuable skills in project
management, event production/promotion and budgeting.
Teamwork and Leadership Training
The students will work together to manage the day-to-day operations
of the project. Leadership opportunities will be made available for
returning participants, who will have a hand in recruiting new youth
and contributing to our evolving curriculum.
Business Incubator
The DJ Project will incorporate a business incubator that will conduct
workshops and provide information on music-related businesses.
They will also receive business and career guidance from qualified
volunteers and assistance to develop business plans.
Our goal is to provide grants of up to $5,000 for solid proposals
that demonstrate the potential for positive impact on the participant(s)
and the community.
3) Positive Social Change and Community Service
Positive Social Change
The San Francisco Bay Area has long been a force of change in this
country through the challenging, provocative work of its musicians,
artists, thinkers, writers, politicians and counter-cultural leaders.
We seek to continue that tradition with a new generation of young
minds, replacing alienation and indifference with political awareness
and action.
In an environment that nurtures critical thinking and listens to fresh
perspectives, youth will discover their voice, feel their ideas count
and find a positive path through life.
Participants will be encouraged to develop that voice and to express
it constructively. Voter registration, education, fundraising, awareness
campaigns and other nonviolent methods of community change will be
promoted.
Community Service and Volunteerism
Community service will be a requirement for our youth team. Volunteers
from the neighborhood working with the youth will embody the ethos
of service.
When our music library is sufficient and our young DJs grasp the mixing
fundamentals, we will make our services available to other community
groups for cultural or political events.
Second-year participants will be encouraged to take the curriculum
based upon our musical model to the middle schools and youth groups
throughout the Bay Area.
What we need
Cash Donations
The DJ Project seeks cash donations to fund the operating costs of
the program, purchase new and used musical equipment, maintain existing
and donated equipment, expand the DJ studio and computer lab, meet
day-to-day upkeep (utilities, office supplies, tapes, disks, etc.)
and obtain furniture (tables, desks, chairs, etc.)
Donations of Musical Equipment
We seek new and used mixers, turntables, speakers, related hardware
and cables, and traditional instruments such as guitars, drums and
amplifiers.
Donations of Computer Equipment, Software and Internet Access
The DJ Project needs new and used computers, software, storage media
and a web host to outfit our computer lab.
Donations of Furniture and Goods
The project requires tables, chairs, desks, lamps, shelves, filing
cabinets and other miscellaneous office goods.
Computer and Musical Technician Volunteers
We need technicians to help install and maintain the studio and computer
lab on a part-time, as-needed basis.
Volunteer Musicians
We seek working DJs, musicians, music industry professionals and Internet
professionals to conduct lectures, seminars and workshops, give lessons,
and work with the youth as their time allows.
Volunteer Business Leaders and Professionals
The DJ Project seeks qualified volunteers to share their business
skills and expertise, help develop our business incubator, and give
advice as their schedules permit.
Political Activists
We seek political activists to get involved in our project to inform
our students about the political process and the channels which they
can use to create positive change.
About Horizons Unlimited
Horizons Unlimited of San Francisco, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit
corporation centered in the Mission District, has provided youth services
for more than 30 years.
Founded in 1965 by concerned individuals to provide employment and
education opportunities to at-risk youth in the Mission District,
Horizons Unlimited now provides a continuum of prevention, treatment,
and support services to youth throughout the City and County of San
Francisco. Clients range from 14-24 years of age.
Horizons Unlimited's Programs
Our programs provide youth with positive alternatives to drug abuse,
gang involvement, and other elements that negatively impact their
lives. Our programs value and validate our youth's culture and empower
them, their families, and communities.
We have developed a comprehensive curriculum in order to meet our
youth's increasing needs:
Prevention Programs
• Prevention education
• Youth AIDS education
• Inhalant prevention
• Tobacco Free project
Treatment Programs
• Day treatment
• Outpatient
Gender-Specific Programs
• Young Women Arise
• Females Against Violence
• Giving and Inspiring Responsibility in Life
Employment Programs
• Mayor's Youth Employment and Education Program
• Summer Youth Employment and Training Program
About the Mission District
The Mission School District population consists of approximately forty-two
percent (42%) Latino, thirty-seven percent (37%) Asian/Pacific Islanders,
thirteen percent (13%) African-American, seven percent (7%) Caucasian,
and one percent (1%) Native American or other.
Twenty-six percent (26%) of the law violation referrals to the Juvenile
Probation Department come from the Mission District youth population.
(Juvenile Probation Department, Annual Report, 1997-98.)
San Francisco Unified School District data shows that of the 1,712
suspensions and 66 expulsions during the 1998-99 school year, 856
suspensions and 40 expulsions were Mission District students.
Approximately thirty percent (30%) of voluntary, formal, and informal
probationary activity comes out of the Mission District, which has
the highest percentage of judicial actions within the city and county
of San Francisco.
About the Program Director
Jeff Feinman has extensive experience working in youth development.
After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from the University of California
at Berkeley in 1994, Jeff spent the next two years teaching English
in Spain and Argentina. Upon returning to the States, Jeff spent a
year building the business of Give Something Back -- an innovative
office supply start-up that donates its after-tax profits to local
non-profit organizations.
Feeling the need to return to grassroots youth services, he began
working as an employment/ education counselor at Horizons Unlimited.
Currently, Jeff is the Employment Coordinator at Horizons Unlimited,
where he develops training partnerships for youth with local businesses.
He also writes grants for Horizons, recently securing a two-year,
$66,000 grant for the agency's Tobacco Free Project.
Copyright © 2000 The DJ Project
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