Program areas at Harmony Project Productions
Chorus: a 500-voice chorus representing central Ohio's vibrant diversity, performing for tens of thousands during numerous special events and venues throughout the year. There are no fees or auditions to participate - only a commitment to completing volunteer service in the community. In Harmony, it is not about the sound of your voice - it is how you use it to uplift the voices of others to build a stronger, more inclusive community. Uniting people of all ages, races, income and education levels, sexual orientation, geographies, and religions it is a living vision of inclusion. Members include everyone from retirees and recent graduates, carpenters and chiropractors, ged-holders and phds. Chorus members braved the cold to raise their voices outside of the Ohio statehouse to sing and record songs of hope.
Community service: service is at the heart of Harmony Project's mission. Each season, all participants commit to completing a minimum of 16 hours of volunteer community service, either through projects organized by Harmony Project or through projects and opportunities facilitated by partnering community organizations. Each year Harmony Project leverages more than 60,000 hours of volunteer service. Through over 900 volunteer opportunities, trees are planted, meals are served, murals are painted, hospitalized children are sung to and snuggled, and so much more. Through performances and volunteer service, voices are made stronger and more relevant as they combine with others accross social cultural and geographic divides. Volunteers continue to maintain the grounds of sgrc throughout 2021. Other service events included 200 thanksgiving meals for adults in supportive housing, and 3000 pounds of food collected for lutheran social services.
Harmony programs - one family, student programming, prison arts and friends in Harmony: after school arts, education and service learning classes that foster creativity, responsiblity, self-confidence, and community engagement for students throughout columbus - the vast majority of whom qualify for free lunch and live in underserved communities. 100% of participating seniors graduate, compared with 78% of their peers. We've also seen increased school attendance and grades, and decreased tardiness among students in our programs. Prison arts engages inmates in recovery to serve a purpose while serving a sentence. Harmony expanded our prison arts program to include a weekly program for incarcerated men at pickaway correctional institution, and a new program in 2021 for incarcerated juveniles. This program affords inmates the opportunity to create positive change in their lives and the lives of others as they heal from the trauma of physical and emotional abuse and addiction. Friends in Harmony provides weekly music, experiential arts and service-learning programs for adults with differing abilities, experiencing homelessness, or fighing addiction many of whom live in poverty. Harmony classes and performances help them defy limitations and prejudices, forge sustaining social ties, and bolster their self-confidence many of them learn they too have a lot to give back to the community.