*Goodwill VISTA* Washington County Music Program Coordinator

Maine Academy of Modern Music (MAMM) is a community-led, non-profit school of music that started in 2007. Serving as Maine¿s own ¿school of rock¿ MAMM offers classes, lessons, camps, and ensemble experiences in contemporary genres. MAMM serves all ages with a primary focus on youth ages 8 to 18, especially those struggling at home or in school due to language, cultural, social, learning, and/or income barriers. MAMM¿s headquarters are in Portland but its programming extends statewide.

This position is based in western Washington County, where one-third of families live in poverty and youth report feeling sad or hopeless at significantly higher rates than their peers elsewhere in the state. The toxic stress of generational poverty harms developing youth and undermines well-being into adulthood. However, high quality arts programming of the sort MAMM provides both in school and after school has been shown to cultivate resilience and mitigate the negative effects of toxic stress. Youth who develop resilience are better able to learn, grow, and thrive into adulthood, and MAMM helps them do exactly that.

MAMM¿s partner sites¿schools and after school programs¿have struggled to provide music education and enrichment for years. Our partners need and want more music education and enrichment offerings. They understand the important role music plays in cultivating resilient youth, but no one organization has the capacity to offer these opportunities on their own. By facilitating collaboration and developing innovative program models to meet youth where they are, MAMM fills a critical need in Washington County¿s educational and artistic ecosystems.