The Dick & Jane Project

Co-Creator & Art Director, c.2011-2013

The Dick & Jane Project is a non-profit organization based in Columbus, Ohio. The project hosts collaborative workshops partnering middle school students with professional musicians to create radio-ready songs. The students write the lyrics, the musicians compose the music, and together they collaborate on the production of a professionally recorded song. Bringing schools, families, and communities together, Dick & Jane gives young people the confidence to know that their words can impact people beyond the classroom walls in a very real way.

Since 2010, The Dick & Jane Project has worked with over 1,000 students in 18 schools to create 120 songs, each of which has been played on the radio.

When given the chance, kids can write some pretty spectacular lyrics. They write about love and friendship, of course. They write about silly things like the reasons why shorts are better than pants (No Me Gustan Pantalones), and they write about serious things like schizophrenia (Silent Conversation) and September 11th (We Are Strong). Whatever they write, there is a unique power and perspective in their words. But don't take my word for it. Listen for yourself. Here are some of my favorites to get you started.