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Give a Beat Celebrates the UN’s International Youth Day

In partnership with DJs and promoters in the U.S., Give a Beat’s International Youth Day events are raising awareness and funds for its programs by engaging the dance music community in helping families impacted by mass incarceration and giving youth in America a voice.

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Join us in partnership with DJs and promoters in cities across the U.S. in conjunction with Give a Beat’s International Youth Day 2017 events! Raise awareness and funds with the dance music family for Give a Beat music and mentoring programs for youth in underserved communities. Together we can help break the vicious grip of incarceration in America and give youth a voice! Cities include Chicago, Detroit, Durham, Humboldt, Long Beach, Los Angeles, New Orleans, San Diego, San Francisco, and Tucson: http://www.giveabeat.org/iyd2017

August 12th is the UN declared International Youth Day, which “aims to remind the public of the importance of youth as a stage in life and is celebrated all over the world.” On this date each year, the UN recognizes efforts of the world’s youth in enhancing global society and also promotes ways to engage youth to get more involved in making positive contributions to their communities. Give a Beat, in partnership with promotional partners, is hoping to raise awareness about how youth are being negatively affected by the mass incarceration crisis and raise funds toward our programs that offer positive alternatives to the school-to-prison pipeline.

In addition to raising funds for Give a Beat’s innovative programs, a major educational initiative will be implemented so that attendees can learn about the myriad ways in which the mass incarceration epidemic is negatively affecting youth, and how to get involved and push for positive change. This is an ongoing nationwide effort by Give a Beat to raise awareness and educate dance music fans and the public at large about the plight of youth in marginalized American communities.

Besides the actual events, a greater number of artists and DJs will participate in I Give a Beat About Youth, a social media awareness campaign, whereby they will create and share videos that educate the world about the mounting setbacks faced by youth who grow up in communities impacted by mass incarceration. Visit Give a Beat's IYD 2017 page in the near future to view and share these engaging videos.

Background on the Issues:
The deleterious effects of mass incarceration are particularly difficult for American youth in marginalized communities. Currently, 2.7 million children (minors under 18) in the United States have an incarcerated parent. In addition, the United States is the world leader in incarcerating youth, spending $6 billion per year on juvenile corrections. On any given day, there are over 70,000 juveniles in custody in the U.S. Furthermore, the U.S. is the only industrialized nation in the world that puts minors into solitary confinement, tries them as adults, imposes life sentences without parole, and sends juveniles to adult prisons at a stunning average cost of $80K a year, more than a Harvard education. And perhaps most disturbing, 1 in 3 African American youth will be in prison during their lifetime.

“There are so many people locked up in the U.S. right now: women, teens - most who have already been victimized, and are now separated from family. Our for-profit prison system has been able to grow unabatedly for 45 years. It’s a machine, making it very difficult to intervene and correct, but there is still a lot we can do. For one, we can just be there for people who've been through it by receiving them when they get out. This alone can make a world of difference.” says Lauren Segal.


Background on Give a Beat:
Founded in 2014, Give a Beat works to harness the power of the dance music community towards actionable solutions that address the issues of youth and families impacted by incarceration. Give a Beat is a community of music lovers, musicians, artists, activists, promoters and entrepreneurs who create tangible opportunities for positive impact in vulnerable communities around the United States. Music is the inspiration, mode of communication, and conduit for change.

Actively engaged in educating the dance music community on the issues of mass incarceration, Give a Beat publishes interviews, continually informs and enlightens its network through blog and social media posts, and constantly puts together events and panels in an effort to broaden the dialogue and get more people engaged and active on the issue. Some highlights include:

Give a Beat’s Programs:
In addition to the development of its unique mentoring program that connects previously incarcerated young people (ages 16 to 24) with mentors from the music community to help guide them toward a creative music-driven career and away from imprisonment forever, Give a Beat has other programs that use the power of music to heal from trauma caused by the impact of mass incarceration on at-risk communities. Since its founding, Give a Beat has held numerous DJ workshops for youth in collaboration with several organizations including A Place Called Home, Arts for Incarcerated Youth, and Girls Rock Detroit and is working on expanding this successful program across the country. In December of 2016, Give a Beat’s social justice work and youth mentoring programs was featured in the PBS special, “The American Spirit with Mary Parks of CBS.”

Give a Beat + Criminal Justice Reform:
Give a Beat has also been diligently working on forming broad coalitions with various nonprofit organizations that are pushing for criminal justice reform. In May, Give a Beat led the social justice panel at West Coast Weekender’s “Give a Beat, Change the System” in San Diego and in Durham, North Carolina they collaborated with DanceGRUV Radio at Moogfest to present “Music & Tech: Tools to Fight Mass Incarceration,” which was featured in The Herald Sun’s article, “Moogfest artists fight mass incarceration.”

Give a Beat + Airbnb:
As one of the pioneering nonprofits selected by Airbnb to host a social impact experience called Life-Changing Music on their Trips platform, Give a Beat offers invigorating and educational experiences in Los Angeles and San Francisco that teach guests the art of DJing while activating them towards social justice. Give a Beat was honored to be one of the few nonprofits featured on Airbnb’s Social Impact Experiences homepage at launch and was featured in Fast Company’s article, “Airbnb Now Offers ‘Social Impact Experiences.’ How Much Good Will They Do?”

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