Photo by Kelly Sikkema
Meet care Care2Rock, a socially innovative online music lesson marketplace and platform. Care2Rock pairs up skilled, vetted and background checked music teachers with paying students for live, online music lessons, on a variety of instruments.
Care2Rock teachers also agree to mentor a child in foster care – or a child who is hospitalized – for a year, for free! Care2Rock is also teaming up with Texas CASA (an org that advocates for effective public policy for children in the child protection system) on the launch of Computers for CASA, a recent Texas bill that allows foster youth to receive computer equipment through the state’s surplus supply.
Care2Rock will be offering free lessons on the site to Texas CASA foster children who have received computers through this program.
Below is a Q&A with the founder of Care2Rock, Karyn Scott
When someone asks what Care2Rock is how do you explain it to them?
You also founded the nonprofit Kids in a New Groove, can you tell us how that played a role in starting Care2Rock?
We were very proud that youth in foster care in our program had a 100% high school graduation rate for a 3 year period compared to the national average of 50% or less for youth in care.
This kind of consistency is very rare for kids in care, who sometimes can move placements up to 6 times a year.
When someone signs up how are the lessons and sessions done? Is it through Skype or another video calling platform?
How can musicians sign up on the platform to become an instructor? What are the qualifications for an instructor to join the platform?
What have been some of the success stories so far that have really motivated you to make Care2Rock a success?
I have seen kids in foster care go from withdrawn and depressed to making straight A’s and signing autographs after a show.
What is your vision for Care2Rock over the next few years?
My vision is to bring the healing power of music to kids in foster care across the country and to help connect them to the best teachers.
If we can bring on partners to help provide instruments for these kids, as well as computers for them to take on our platform, we could be a powerful force for change across the U.S. We also aim to be an example of how income producing social enterprise models can often be more agile and scalable than non-profits can be.
That doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for non-profits to make a huge impact. It just means that scalable growth is often a challenge that isn’t best addressed by the non-profit model.
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