Guitars Not Guns, Central Ohio aims to provide at-risk youth in the Columbus area with an alternative to violence, drugs, and other negative outcomes. We provide free guitar lessons and guitar equipment to adolescents in partnership with organizations like The Boys & Girls Club of Columbus.

Our program is 100% operated by volunteers. All teachers and organization administrators work for free on this project, because they believe that it can have a positive impact for the kids that participate and ultimately on the city of Columbus.

What impact can you have?

Being involved with Guitars Not Guns means that you get to:

  • Prevent youth violence, drug and alcohol use, and negative behaviors
  • Mentor at-risk adolescents by sharing a potentially lifelong passion
  • Help to create confident citizens who contribute positively to the Columbus community
  • Do something about some of the biggest problems that challenge our society

What can you do?

There are opportunities to get involved both teaching guitar lessons or helping to run the organization.

Guitar Teachers

You don’t have to be Jimi Hendrix to teach guitar lessons. Most of our students have never picked up a guitar before, so the 14 week program only covers the very basics.

If you can play all the basic Major and Minor chords and you can reasonably string some together to play a song, you’re a good enough guitar player.

Our curriculum will cover 14 weeks with 2 sessions each week. One session will contain primarily classroom-style lecture, teaching the students a new concept or song and helping them to get through it the first time or two. The second session will be a guided practice workshop, where teachers will help each student individually practice the lesson for that week.

Classes will have no more than 10 students, and our goal is to always have at least 3 teachers available in each session. This ensures we’ve got enough coverage to help each student learn at their own pace.

You don’t have to be available for every session, but your experience and the students’ experiences will be much better the more frequently you can attend. Our volunteer director will coordinate a scheduled rotation to make sure classes are covered and volunteers are not overcommitted.

Organization Administration

If you don’t know how to play guitar, but you believe in our mission, there are still ways to get involved!

Guitars Not Guns, Central Ohio is a 501(c)(3) with the state of Ohio. This means we have much of the same administrative responsibilities that any business would have. We have some positions that are ongoing and we’d look for a more committed volunteer:

  • Marketing and public relations
  • Administrative duties
  • Recruiting
  • Fundraising

And, we have other opportunities that are more “one off” and will only require commitment on a short term basis.

  • Helping with fundraising/recruiting events
  • Providing one-off services (graphic design, consulting, etc.)
  • Other ways you could think of to volunteer your skills

How do you get started?

If you’re interested in learning more, all you have to do is fill out the form below. We’ll reach out to discuss your qualifications and how you can get involved.