About The We Can Project
What is The We Can Project?
The We Can Project is a service learning/growth mindset program inspires and profoundly connects students of all ages to the difference they can make in their lives, their communities, and in the world. It is designed to be easily incorporated seamlessly into the work schools are already doing, and teaching students that there are other important parts of education besides test scores. It can be completed over an entire school year, all the way down to just one day. By working towards their goals a little at a time, students learn the importance of commitment, communication, strategic planning, and follow through. They come away with confidence, leadership, and a profound sense of accomplishment.
How Did The We Can Project Start?
So, how did we get here? One day in 2013 I opened up my email and read this message. It was from Jen, an elementary school teacher from Vancouver Island in Canada:
“Jesse,
Our school was inspired by your song “We Can”. Not only has it inspired the teachers, it has also given our students confidence to celebrate their “cans” as well as their future goals and dreams. As a school we are asking ourselves what can we do to help each other, the community, the world?!
We would love to have you come to our school to support our “I can” theme. We know you are a busy guy and we are just a tiny school in Canada. However, you have empowered us with your words and, as the students would say, “we can” always ask him! Thank you for giving us the courage through your lyrics to dream of something larger than ourselves. We can’t wait to hear from you and hopefully hear you play for us in person!”
The only thing better than receiving this email was the week that I got to spend with Jen and her students. I was amazed by the goals they were creating and accomplishing, such as building a community garden and raising money for a local animal shelter. To celebrate, we filmed the music video for the song “We Can,” which you can watch HERE.
Once other teachers saw the video and heard about what had happened at Jen’s school, they wrote to me asking how they could bring “We Can” to their schools. That's when I realized that this was bigger than just my song. With the help of some very dedicated educators, we designed and created The We Can Project.
Since its creation, The We Can Project has been implemented in elementary, middle, and high schools, colleges, summer camps, and after school programs all across the United States and Canada to over 800,000 student participants. It has been featured on CBS Morning Show in New York, CTV News all across Canada, and The TODAY Show.
How Does The We Can Project Work?
While The We Can Project can be customized to your specific goals and needs, this program has three main steps:
Step 1: Think. Students come up with goals that are important to them (I Can), the people around them (You Can) and their communities (We Can). Each student picks the one goal he/she is most excited about.
Step 2: Plan. Each student makes a plan to figure out the who, what, where, and when of his/her project to reach his/her goal. We provide all classroom worksheets and materials.
Step 3: Act and reflect. Students put their plans into motion, take time to reflect on their progress, and adjust their plans accordingly.
What Differentiates The We Can Project?
There are many service learning and growth mindset programs available for educators to use.
Here is makes The We Can Project unique:
The song. Written after running his first marathon, and realizing that people were inspired by the idea of a not very athletic creative person doing something so physically challenging, Jesse wrote “We Can” to inspire help people of all ages give themselves permission to try new and scary things. It soon became apparent that the song was a tool that could be used in educational spaces. The students tend to memorize the lyrics surprisingly quickly, which makes The We Can Project easy to start.
Everything you need to use The We Can Project is provided to you for free. We know that educators are constantly overwhelmed, and we have made it as easy as possible for you to incorporate our initiative seamlessly into what you are already teaching in the classroom.
There are many occasions in which students are given the opportunity to give back at school, whether that’s anything from donating canned goods around the Thanksgiving, purchasing gifts around the holidays, or running a bake sale to raise money for a specific cause. What our program does is help schools find out and support their students’ goals. No matter what age or grade they are in, we help you to find out what matters to them, what they are afraid of, and the differences they want to make. Students learn leadership, problem solving, and communication while feeling supported by their school environment instead of being told what to do. In some cases, this can be a life changing experience.
There is no specific timeline for The We Can Project. Some schools choose to use it for the entire school year, others do a month, a week, or even just one day. We can work with you to decide what is best for your specific needs.
Jesse himself. When Jesse visits a school, whether in person or virtually, it gets your students inspired and motivated to achieve their goals. And in most cases, it even works on the teachers too.
We are so excited in your interest in working with us. For questions, or to find out more information you can contact us here.