Project Y.O.U.R.S. - Youth in Our Urban Communities Recognizing Sustainability

Educating youth through music and the arts

Lisa Payne – Director, Project Y.O.U.R.S.
I’ve been an entertainer since birth.  I started writing songs when I was 5 and began singing them at 6.  I even wrote songs for my Aunties to sing at church.  My songs reflected my life.  There were songs of happiness and songs of sorrow.  There were songs of love and joy, and songs of hate and pain.  As a young person, I began to perform at San Jose Job Corps’ Black History programs and the San Jose Juneteenth Festival.

I have always wanted to use my performance art to help children who are less fortunate.  In 2006, I began an organized after-school program for youth, teaching them about sustainability, social justice and self-esteem through music and the arts.

In our program, each week we talk about a specific topic and engage in activities to help the kids get to know and believe in themselves and their ability to impact for the better the communities in which they live.  After our lesson we work in teams to create and perform songs.  Kids have the opportunity to express themselves through song, dance, drawing and writing.  The twelve-week class culminates in a performance for classmates, friends and family.  The program includes a homework lab for those who need it.  

In 2009, my class recorded one of our songs at a professional recording studio.  The kids were so amazing and so professional.  We submitted the song to the African American Community Services Center in San Jose and were selected as one of the performing acts at the San Jose Juneteenth Festival on June 21st, 2009.  It was incredible to come back to the site where I used to perform as a young person and close the circle with these talented children more than twenty years later!

I believe that music heals…and if one song can touch the heart of at least one individual, I’m doing my job.  If, through the songs of the children, we can inspire at least one, we’re doing our jobs!

For more information on bringing project Y.O.U.R.S. to your school or organization, please email me at lisa@koralaconsulting.com.  Let's help our youth learn about the environment and sustainability through art!

Lisa Payne, The MRS., is currently working on her upcoming performance piece on sustainability and environmental education, to be performed at the City of San Jose's Bay Area Environmental Schools Conference, on May 1st, 2010.