WHY I STARTED ROCK CHANGE NOW!
Eduardo Vega, MA; founder/chief instigator
I started Rock Change Now! because I believe our best hope for a better future lies in the millions out there who would like to make a difference but haven’t found a way to start.
Based on my decades of experience as an innovator and advocate in mental health and human rights causes, I see the opportunity to make a sustained difference for social justice in America and the world by (1) engaging a huge number of new activists through the energy and messages of music, and, (2) helping them make a real impact on social justice causes by providing– free to the public– uniquely fun and accessible training founded in an extensive fund of knowledge and network of world-renowned subject experts.
There are a lot of people out there who want deeply to make a positive impact on the world. If we want a better future, we need to provide those prospective activists with something different, fun and powerful. Rock Change Now! is here to do exactly that. I hope you'll join us on this journey for a better future today as we set out to rock the world. In the words of the great Helen Keller "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much."
THE ROCK CHANGE NOW! STARTSOMEGOOD CAMPAIGN
Reaching our tipping point funding of $60,000 for the Rock Change Now! Startup Campaign will enable us to: 1) create/release our first three fun and instructional Rock Change University YouTube videos; 2) develop significant brand presence for Rock Change Now and Rock Change America through social media, etc. and fully functional WordPress website, 3) establish and consult with the Rock Change University Faculty and related stakeholder/cause organizations; 4) build relationships with music industry, artists, venture philanthropy and prospective tie-in sponsors in order to secure financing for Years 1-2, and 5) pursue existing grant and award opportunities for financing.
Our stretch goal of $200,000 is a full year's budget to include hiring of key staff and consultants, support for the Inaugural Rock Change Now! Impact Awards and Benefit Ball in Los Angeles, etc. (more details found in the Goals section and a full-scale 3-year financing strategy is available by request).
We're running for exactly one month March 13 to April 13. We have commitments of funding and support from many amazing individuals but we need you too! Join us by donating. Along the way we'll have several events, friendraising and fundraising events including local band gigs, fun and potentially humiliating social media challenges, and of course a lot of music.
And of course you don't miss out on our limited issue items like:
preliminary t-shirt design
ROCK CHANGE NOW!
MISSION
The Mission of Rock Change Now! is to transform America and eliminate social injustice by connecting with the power of music, as well as providing change agents of all generations with the skills, knowledge and community they need to make a difference.
SUMMARY
Rock Change Now! is the activation and training nexus America needs to build on the power of music and realize transformational change by helping thousands of people become successful activists. Grounded in rock and roll spirit that makes activism fun and accessible, RCN is an innovative engine to drive progress on many social justice causes simultaneously. Through its two (2) interfacing programs of Rock Change America and Rock Change University, RCN provides change agents across the country with the tools and community they need to make an impact. Working closely with celebrity artists, scholars, activists, and the music industry as well as local activists and bands, Rock Change Now! will energize an intergenerational wave of change for a better American future.
WHAT'S THE PROBLEM HERE?
Our world is undergoing intense upheaval. Here in the US things have never looked so bleak.Our current civil discourse is disorienting and divisive in a way it has never been. The US is far behind our peer nations in quality of life indicators, incarceration, health outcomes, economic disparity and poverty. Meanwhile, addictions suicide and hate crimes continue to rise. We need inspiration and new solutions to change these. To reduce the social injustice that keeps Americans from achieving their potential we need new approaches, and many new activists.
The best offerings of music, arts and youth culture have focused on social problems, inequity and injustice. Early jazz to folk in the 1960s, reggae and punk rock in the 80s, to rap and grunge, music has always raised awareness and consciousness of social justice issues in America. Today's musical artists too, in everything from hip-hop to alternative, continue to provide their fans with inspiration through their sounds, their courage, their messages that call for action. For many of these would-be activists the question focuses mostly on what they could do and how to do it.
Creating sustained impact on issues of social justice is complicated and challenging. It requires people engaged at many levels, doing various types of activist work simultaneously. All too often, though, navigating the access points, politics and the mechanics of change-making discourages new activists. There is little formal training even for paid advocates on specifics like effective committee work, policy creation, legal advocacy and stakeholder processes. Very few have opportunities to learn the issues, skills and strategies for civic engagement and how to be effective in the area of their passion. Additionally, lacking supportive communities, many activists who do manage to find their voices become burned out, frustrated and isolated over time.
ROCK CHANGE NOW!
Rock Change Now! brings the energy of music and advocacy together, to empower a new generation of individuals to become effective change agents for community and national progress, in whichever areas they choose. In an innovative approach to the subject of social change that is engaged, fun and inspiring, Rock Change Now! works with people and musicians to make advocacy hip and accessible, while providing training, tools and connections for effective action. Through the combined programs of Rock Change America (RCA), focused on engagement, concerts and community building, as well as the training core of Rock Change University (RCU), which provides knowledge and skills training, Rock Change Now! can move progress in local communities across the nation, and at the national level as well.
1. Rock Change America! (RCA) serves to inspire and connect people around music and activism, and to highlight projects and programs that are making a difference. Keyed to established practices in community engagement, RCA fosters conversations about social issues, music and activism. Through shared Spotify playlists, concentrated social media engagement, and interactive webinars, RCA brings activists, musicians, and fans together to energize communities for change. It provides a mechanism for advocates to promote bands and musicians, to link with them in events like friend-raising and fund-raising concerts and to help advance social messages of their music. RCA is also central in recognizing artists that are making a difference for social justice, including the RCN Impact Music Awards.
2. Rock Change University (RCU) is the world's first advocacy knowledge and skills training course built on the spirit of music and fun. Informed by a faculty of experts in training, TV and film production, rights and systems advocacy, public health, community empowerment, social science research, public policy and grassroots activism, RCU's goal is to equip the Rock Change activists with the knowledge and skills they need to make a difference across a range of social justice causes. Beginning with entertaining overviews and a process for helping would-be activists find their unique focus and path as change-agents, RCU provides an exciting training experience that mentors people into making a substantial impact in whatever social justice problem that interests them the most.
At RCU, "Change Agent 101" video trainings on YouTube, developed by teams of trainers, advocates, social scientists, film and television professionals, will cover the basic concepts and skills of social cause activism. Featuring viral-quality social media video uniquely infused with comedy and the spirit of music, Change Agent 101 introduces participants to the key concepts and skills of being a "zen punk rock change agent." RCU will host a forum for co-learning where viewers can share their projects and progress as well, and build upon the introductory training with intensive "Power Chords" workshops, interviews with musicians and thought leaders as well as panel discussions at music events and festivals across the country.
Infused With Music/Driven By Difference Rock and roll spirit, punk power and hip-hop truth-to-power story is at RCN’s core. But carrying the energy and messages of artists from everything from Folk to Rap and Reggaeton forward, isn’t just about the jam and style. Many musicians and artists base their work on social justice messages they want their listeners connect to. They need somewhere to direct inspired fans for action. This is true whether they are performing to huge arena crowds or local dive bars. Whether the issue is economic disparity, “criminal injustice’, sexism, homelessness or suicide prevention, Rock Change Now! is the place that musicians can find new fans and music fans can find their way to making an impact.
In the difficult times we are living, with all the divisiveness and
negativity we are experiencing, we need a very different approach to
social change. We need something special to point the way and to bring us together. We need to Rock Change as a nation! And for that, we need music.
WE ROCK --BUT WE ARE NOT A MOVEMENT!
Importantly, Rock Change Now! is not a movement or cause in itself. We fully support and expect to partner with community based organizations and social justice leadership groups like ACLU, the Women’s March, the Human Rights Campaign, and Black Lives Matter to help link and involve activists. We are not here to fight the battle on any one social justice. We are here to build the army that can win them all. Our goal is to provide the connection, inspiration and skills that people need to get out there and make a difference in all of them. Our product is inspired effective activists plugging into change at all levels of society. Our success will be measured in the number of people we train, and in the myriad projects they initiate and create themselves.
WHO ARE YOU?
You can read about me (Eduardo Vega) in the Team section or on the Rockchangenow website. I have developed projects from concept into multi-million dollar social impact organizations, and led teams to create, finance and execute major events including national conferences and demonstrations of thousands of individuals. I have personally developed and conducted trainings for hundreds of individuals and been featured in news media around the world. I am an internationally recognized social innovator, thought leader and advocate myself, but more importantly I’ve been able to learn from the best minds, scholars and activists out there. Within my personal network are range of subject matter experts that are the leaders in their field, many of whom are very excited about contributing to Rock Change Now!
As an ardent advocate for change, a lover of music, and father to a 9 year old boy I am committed to helping advance a better future for social justice through this work. Building on the partnership of amazing colleague/advisors and friends, I have invested hundreds of hours and dollars to date in development of the RCN concept. I look forward to your support to engage key support people and get us to the next level. Rock Change Now is going on an amazing journey– please get your ticket and hop on this bus by contributing today!
