Rock to the Future

Mission and History

Rock to the Future supports positive youth development and economic empowerment through free, student-driven music programs for Philadelphia youth. Through music, our students build skills to unlock their fullest potential to support lifelong well-being. We serve 1,000+ of students annually in-school, after school, and during the summer in schools, community locations, and juvenile justice facilities.

Rock to the Future was founded in 2010 to support positive youth development through community-based music programs in neighborhoods that have been deprived of resources. Beginning in Kensington with 13 students, enrollment rapidly grew and the observed impact was immediate as students returned day-after-day in the MusiCore program. To meet growing demand, Rock to the Future established summer programs and launched MobileMusic in 2014, which provides music classes at school and community partner locations. In 2018, the MusiCore program expanded to Germantown. In 2022, MobileMusic programs were brought to youth at juvenile justice facilities. In 2023, we refined our programs’ goals and descriptions, which separated MobileMusic into 3 distinct programs in addition to MusiCore. Our programs are now defined as MusiCore, MobileMusic, MusiCommunity, and Justice Programs.

Grant Summary

Rock to the Future supports positive youth development and economic empowerment through free, student-driven music programs for Philadelphia youth. We provide a bridge to well-being, professional pathways, economic empowerment, and violence reduction through music. We are dedicated to the Kensington Community and have served this neighborhood since 2010. In 2024, our goals for MusiCore After School and Summer program in Kensington include growing our economic empowerment services including additional college and trade school support, career exposure, and paid work opportunities; growing our resource support including connecting families to health, housing, and food resources and providing youth with hygiene kits and essential items like backpacks and shoes; and providing additional restorative practices and conflict resolution knowledge building opportunities. With support from the Kensington Community Resilience Fund, our students will receive immediate and long-term benefits including higher graduation rates, pursuing post-secondary education and professional employment, reduced peer conflict, and improved mental well-being.

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