Hi! I'm Clara.

I'm a Marquette-born-and-raised violin teacher who just returned home after sixteen years in Detroit! Here's my bio.

​I founded and support two Youth Volume music studios in Michigan. Both provide accessible quality music education to families of all income-levels!

For my 39th birthday,
I wish to have 39 Youth Volume MONTHLY donors!
​
I am asking all my friends and family (and strangers!) to consider giving
$8 - 50 per month, or making a one-time donation between 2/24 and 3/24.

Join me and the rest of YV fans for an afternoon Youth Volume solo recital on 3/25; I'll announce on Zoom how much we were able to raise together!  

My dream is to maintain enough community support to create a mixed-income, racially diverse classroom in Marquette! There are 17 students + an incredible teacher in Detroit who are already living the Youth Volume dream. 

Will you help me get this party started?

YOUTH VOLUME in Detroit + Marquette

  1. Detroit Youth Volume (DYV) was established in July 2010 at Capuchin Soup Kitchen's Rosa Parks Youth Program. DYV currently serves 17 youth between the ages of 4 and 17. The lead teacher is a former DYV student Ashanti Norwood!
  2. Marquette Youth Volume (MYV) opened the doors of its tiny "garden level" classroom to four new students in 2023 at Old City Hall. Clara Hardie hopes to garner enough local support to accept additional students in Fall 2023, alongside her twin kindergarteners! 

Youth Volume relies on individual donors and small grant-providers to support the work of our organization. Our studio’s success with grassroots fundraising is what will prove to the world that a business model centering equity and community support CAN WORK!

Together, we are nurturing beautiful humanity & beautiful talent in young string-players ages 4-18 in Detroit and Marquette, Michigan!

Student Demographics 

100%  of musical changemakers in the Youth Volume classrooms benefit from creative collaboration with people of various backgrounds!

63% of YV students are youth of color; half of these are Black children.

40%  of YV students receive financial aid​

1 year of Youth Volume includes:

  • 30 private lessons
  • 30 group classes  
  • Place-Based Music Celebration workshop series, collaborative performance, and album with local musicians
  • quality instruments, music & materials
  • transportation support for parents
  • classroom snacks
  • tickets to local classical performances
  • annual Spring solo recital & community performances 

Looking for extra LOVE in February + March! 

To celebrate the Pisces birthdays of our beloved teachers Ashanti & Clara, we're asking YV fans to become "Sustainers" by signing up to give small monthly donations.

​So far we have about 20 Sustainers who give between $5 and $100 each month. Fans can sign up to give quarterly, annually, or monthly.

"Recurring giving" is an innovative method of supporting community arts. It stretches donors' capacities while allowing our small organization to more accurately predict how much $ will roll in each month to subsidize tuition for families who could not access quality music education otherwise. 

Pledge your love to young musical changemakers who need you! ​

How much & how often should I give? 

  • $1,380 covers a year of 30-minute lessons for a beginner plus all of the above.
  • $1,830 covers a year of 45-minute lessons for an intermediate or advanced student plus all of the above.
​
  1. Any amount, big or small, helps us continue accomplishing our dreams. 
  2. Our DYV Sustainers commit to making a recurring annual, quarterly or monthly donation. Our current monthly donors give $5-50 per month.  
  3. Some donors prefer to give once at the end of the calendar year. You can give now and sign up for our email list to receive a reminder each November/December. 

Sponsor Teaching Training!

​Participate in giving brilliant teachers the tools they need to change the world! 

​Detroit Youth Volume's co-founder & Director, Clara Hardie, has created framework of social justice teaching & studio practices. She's shares them three times a year during a 6-week virtual "Course of Action" called "Growing Equitable Music Studios. 

Similar to the DYV studio, close to half of each GEMS teachers' cohort receives financial aid.

Want to know more? Join the GEMS newsletter list.

Mailing a check

PLEASE NOTE: Checks must be written to our fiscal sponsor, Allied Media Projects, with "Youth Volume" in the memo. Thank you!

​Detroit Youth Volume
c/o Allied Media Projects
4126 Third St.
Detroit, MI 48201

Donate Stuff

In-kind donations can be mailed or dropped off by appointment at Cathedral Church of St Paul. You may schedule a visit to a group lesson if you'd like to see the program in action!
  • non-folding, heavy-duty metal music stands
  • shoulder rests, rosin, new strings
  • pre-paid gas gift cards for parents transporting artists to lessons
  • Solo recital dressy performance outfits for girls & boys ages 5-18, please email for exact sizes and needs
  • newer tablets and laptop computers 

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