“I’m still hurting from his death / But my dad was a fighter / So I’m going to hold his legacy close to my heart / And fight…”

-poem by Samantha, Percussion Studio participant

At LiveConnections, we think it’s important to create a place for kids. Every summer, LiveConnections’ Percussion Studio camp becomes a place where young people make their own drums, jam together, and write poetry that they perform.

We often work with youth like Samantha, who’ve faced significant challenges in their lives. Master teaching artists Josh Robinson and Alex Shaw bring a trauma-informed approach to the work, creating a safe place where kids can talk and write about the hard things.

We want more kids to have the experience Samantha had with us.

We’re here to make the place where joy and hurt and healing can come together.

A studio or microphone or percussion ensemble can be the place where young people trust, where they open up. We love seeing them discover how they can be brave.

You can help more kids find a place to turn pain into poetry and struggle into song.

#KidsCount19

#whatsYOURsong

[Back to Kids Count 2019]

At LiveConnections’ Percussion Studio summer camp, students and staff from Uplift Center for Grieving Children practice their rhythm compositions on homemade bucket drums. [Images by Jaci Downs Photography]

LiveConnections is supported in part by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. Additional support provided in part by the Philadelphia Cultural Fund.

LiveConnections.org is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, tax ID 26-2666641. The official registration and financial information of LiveConnections.org may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll-free, within Pennsylvania, 1-800-732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.