Girls Rock! Chicago Information

Girls Rock! Chicago is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to building socially just community with girls, transgender youth, and gender non-conforming youth by developing leadership, fostering self-esteem, and encouraging creative expression through music. Through our music education programs for girls and trans youth ages 8-16, we are committed to educating girls and trans youth about the musical, technical, and creative aspects involved in musicianship because we believe that they are rarely encouraged to explore self-expressive creative outlets and are less likely to be given access to musical and technical instruction or equipment. We believe that music can be a crucial tool in allowing young women and trans youth to respond to preconceived notions of what they can do and what they can become. Our week-long summer camp program is organized around motivating girls and trans youth ages 8-16 through instrument instruction, music composition coaching, recording workshops, song-writing workshops, hands-on activities, technical equipment workshops, guest speakers, team-building activities and band performances. We provide positive and supportive role models for campers though interaction and participation by volunteers who will share their experiences as women and trans people involved in some form of making music. We believe in maintaining an emphasis on accessibility to ensure that youth have access to equipment and instruction regardless of their socio-economic background, race, ethnicity, or neighborhood. Our application is based on a sliding-scale tuition and no one is turned away for lack of funding.