Empowering Youth Through Music, Mentorship And The Arts
Our Story
Guitars Over Guns Organization (GOGO) began in 2008 with a flagship mentoring program at North Miami Middle School in Miami, FL after CEO, Dr. Chad Bernstein, had a special learning experience with young people in a community underserved that changed his perspective on music forever. As students began performing on stage, growing in confidence, and showing what was possible when they were supported consistently in this program, the vision for GOGO became clear: young people needed trauma-informed mentors who could walk alongside them, challenge them, celebrate them, and help them imagine a future beyond their current circumstances.
What started as a research-backed music mentoring program in Miami, FL, has grown into a national movement serving young people in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York, while headquarters remain in Miami.
Today, GOGO partners with schools, community centers, artists, families, supporters, and advocates to create programs that meet students where they are and help them grow over time.
Our Story
Guitars Over Guns Organization (GOGO) began in 2008 with a flagship mentoring program at North Miami Middle School in Miami, FL after CEO, Dr. Chad Bernstein, had a special learning experience with young people in a community underserved that changed his perspective on music forever.
As students began performing on stage, growing in confidence, and showing what was possible when they were supported consistently in this program, the vision for GOGO became clear: young people needed trauma-informed mentors who could walk alongside them, challenge them, celebrate them, and help them imagine a future beyond their current circumstances. What started as a research-backed music mentoring program in Miami, FL, has grown into a national movement serving young people in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York, while headquarters remain in Miami.
Today, GOGO partners with schools, community centers, artists, families, supporters, and advocates to create programs that meet students where they are and help them grow over time.
what we do
School-Based Programs
We partner with schools and K–8 centers to provide in-school and after-school programming that helps students build artistic skill, confidence, connection, and belonging.
Students receive hands-on instruction, mentorship, social-emotional support, and academic encouragement, with each quarter building toward an opportunity to perform live, share work publicly, and experience the confidence that comes from being celebrated by their community.
Community-Based Programs
GOGO creates opportunities beyond the classroom through summer camps, alumni programming, partner activations, and community recording studios that are free and open to young people during out-of-school time — whether or not GOGO is offered at their school.
These spaces give young artists a place to turn budding ideas into finished works, with individualized mentorship that meets them wherever they are in their artistic journey. Along the way, students expand their worldview, connect with new opportunities, and discover just how far their creativity can take them.
M-Power Mental Health Program
Through M-Power, GOGO’s dedicated mental wellness initiative, students receive added support from licensed professionals and trained social work interns who help strengthen their resilience, self-awareness, and overall emotional wellness.
M-Power is woven throughout our mentorship model so students can grow creatively while feeling seen, heard, and supported as whole people.
School-Based Programs
We partner with schools and K–8 centers to provide in-school and after-school programming that helps students build artistic skill, confidence, connection, and belonging.
Students receive hands-on instruction, mentorship, social-emotional support, and academic encouragement, with each quarter building toward an opportunity to perform live, share work publicly, and experience the confidence that comes from being celebrated by their community.
Community-Based Programs
GOGO creates opportunities beyond the classroom through summer camps, alumni programming, partner activations, and community recording studios that are free and open to young people during out-of-school time — whether or not GOGO is offered at their school.
These spaces give young artists a place to turn budding ideas into finished works, with individualized mentorship that meets them wherever they are in their artistic journey. Along the way, students expand their worldview, connect with new opportunities, and discover just how far their creativity can take them.
M-Power Mental Health Program
Through M-Power, GOGO’s dedicated mental wellness initiative, students receive added support from licensed professionals and trained social work interns who help strengthen their resilience, self-awareness, and overall emotional wellness.
M-Power is woven throughout our mentorship model so students can grow creatively while feeling seen, heard, and supported as whole people.
School-Based Programs
We partner with schools and K–8 centers to provide in-school and after-school programming that helps students build artistic skill, confidence, connection, and belonging.
Students receive hands-on instruction, mentorship, social-emotional support, and academic encouragement, with each quarter building toward an opportunity to perform live, share work publicly, and experience the confidence that comes from being celebrated by their community.
School-Based Programs
Community-Based Programs
GOGO creates opportunities beyond the classroom through summer camps, alumni programming, partner activations, and community recording studios that are free and open to young people during out-of-school time — whether or not GOGO is offered at their school.
These spaces give young artists a place to turn budding ideas into finished works, with individualized mentorship that meets them wherever they are in their artistic journey. Along the way, students expand their worldview, connect with new opportunities, and discover just how far their creativity can take them.
M-Power Mental Health Program
Through M-Power, GOGO’s dedicated mental wellness initiative, students receive added support from licensed professionals and trained social work interns who help strengthen their resilience, self-awareness, and overall emotional wellness.
M-Power is woven throughout our mentorship model so students can grow creatively while feeling seen, heard, and supported as whole people.
M-Power Mental Health Program
how we do it
Self-Expression
Our students' exploration of their own creative voice.
Mentorship
A gateway to lasting connection between student and mentor.
Performance
The opportunity to put it all to the test on stage.
Self-Expression
Our students' exploration of their own creative voice.
Mentorship
A gateway to lasting connection between student and mentor.
Performance
The opportunity to put it all to the test on stage.
how we do it
Learn + Create
Program sessions begin in Opening Circle, where students check in creatively and build community with their mentors and peers. Through M-Power, our mental wellness initiative, students explore their identities, relationships, goals, and experiences, building the trust and sense of belonging that make creative risk-taking possible. That sense of safety is reflected in our data: in 2025-26, 85% of GOGO students nationally reported that their mentors created a safe and supportive environment.
Mentorship
Mentorship is the heart of the GOGO model. Students are paired with professional artist-mentors who build trust, offer consistency, and help young people feel supported as artists, students, and leaders.
Self-Expression
Students begin by exploring their own creative voice. Through music and the arts, they learn to tell their stories, share their ideas, and discover what they are capable of creating.
Practice + Perform
Throughout each academic quarter, our daily practice builds toward an artistic milestone where students put their growth to the test. Through live performance, leadership opportunities, and collaboration with GOGO programs across regions, young people learn to prepare, persevere, and depend on one another to confidently share what they’ve created with the world. These experiences help students imagine what’s next: in 2025-26, nearly 80% of GOGO students nationally reported that their mentors help them envision their own futures.
Reflect + Grow
Every session ends where it began: in circle. Students spend time reflecting on what they learned, recognizing one another through shout-outs, and rating their experience, building the agency and self-awareness to understand their own growth while providing real-time insight into what they need next. And students know their feedback leads to action: in 2025-26, 85% of GOGO students nationally reported that their mentors consistently apply their recommendations.
how we do it
Learn + Create
Program sessions begin in Opening Circle, where students check in creatively and build community with their mentors and peers. Through M-Power, our mental wellness initiative, students explore their identities, relationships, goals, and experiences, building the trust and sense of belonging that make creative risk-taking possible. That sense of safety is reflected in our data: in 2025-26, 85% of GOGO students nationally reported that their mentors created a safe and supportive environment.
Mentorship
Mentorship is the heart of the GOGO model. Students are paired with professional artist-mentors who build trust, offer consistency, and help young people feel supported as artists, students, and leaders.
Self-Expression
Students begin by exploring their own creative voice. Through music and the arts, they learn to tell their stories, share their ideas, and discover what they are capable of creating.
Practice + Perform
Throughout each academic quarter, our daily practice builds toward an artistic milestone where students put their growth to the test. Through live performance, leadership opportunities, and collaboration with GOGO programs across regions, young people learn to prepare, persevere, and depend on one another to confidently share what they’ve created with the world. These experiences help students imagine what’s next: in 2025-26, nearly 80% of GOGO students nationally reported that their mentors help them envision their own futures.
Reflect + Grow
Every session ends where it began: in circle. Students spend time reflecting on what they learned, recognizing one another through shout-outs, and rating their experience, building the agency and self-awareness to understand their own growth while providing real-time insight into what they need next. And students know their feedback leads to action: in 2025-26, 85% of GOGO students nationally reported that their mentors consistently apply their recommendations.
CREATIVE Youth Development
GOGO’s curriculum is rooted in creative youth development, using the arts as a vehicle for personal growth, skill-building, confidence, connection, and belonging. We thoughtfully evaluate our students' experience in partnership with Hello Insight, then consider that data in real time to assure our youth are fully supported and striving toward fulfilling their potential. In our sessions, students practice how to collaborate, communicate, solve problems, take initiative, depend on one another, and try again when things get hard.
Through consistent mentorship, creative risk-taking, and meaningful artistic experiences, students begin to see themselves differently. They discover that their voices matter, their ideas belong, and they have the agency to shape what comes next for them. This is the deeper impact of GOGO: expanding young people’s sense of who they are, what’s possible, and what they’re capable of achieving.
THE GOGO FUNNEL
The GOGO Funnel gives students a pathway to grow over time. From their first creative experience to alumni leadership, each level offers deeper mentorship, stronger relationships, and new opportunities to create, perform, lead, and give back.
what we do
The GOGO Funnel gives students a pathway to grow over time. From their first creative experience to alumni leadership, each level offers deeper mentorship, stronger relationships, and new opportunities to create, perform, lead, and give back.
Broad Access
Level 1
GOGO 101
Lifelong connection, community, and contribution
Level 2
after-school program
Year-long music, mentorship, belonging, and creative growth
Level 3
advanced ensemble
Returning students building artistic excellence, leadership, and performance readiness
Level 4
Professional Pathways
High school students exploring creative careers, college pathways, and future opportunities
Level 5
Ambassadors
Young artists and leaders representing GOGO through real-world opportunities
Level 6
alumnihood
Lifelong connection, community, and contribution
Deep Investment
THE GOGO FUNNEL
The GOGO Funnel gives students a pathway to grow over time. From their first creative experience to alumni leadership, each level offers deeper mentorship, stronger relationships, and new opportunities to create, perform, lead, and give back.
92%
of GOGO students grew in the skills they need to thrive
88%
of GOGO students would recommend GOGO to a friend
85%
of GOGO students say GOGO is a safe and supportive place to grow
85%
of GOGO students say their mentor inspires them to do their best
82%
of GOGO students feel their ideas matter because of their mentor
what we do
The GOGO Funnel gives students a pathway to grow over time. From their first creative experience to alumni leadership, each level offers deeper mentorship, stronger relationships, and new opportunities to create, perform, lead, and give back.
92%
of GOGO students grew in the skills they need to thrive
88%
of GOGO students would recommend GOGO to a friend
85%
of GOGO students say GOGO is a safe and supportive place to grow
85%
of GOGO students say their mentor inspires them to do their best
82%
of GOGO students feel their ideas matter because of their mentor
donate
Your gift will help a young leader in our community reach their full potential
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