The Jordan Project

A scholarship to help young dreamers

*Submissions are closed for the 2012 Class Season. Thanks to everyone who took the time to tell their story, we know it meant the world to the Kelly family. Please check back on this page early next year. We expect to open up submissions for 2013 sometime around the new year.*

A few years ago, we had the great pleasure of meeting Jordan Kelly. Jordan grew up on Cape Cod but was enjoying life up in Portland Maine, surfing, creating beautiful handmade skateboards and – like many people his age – trying to figure out where life was taking him. While we had crossed paths with Jordan several times, we had no idea how much he had been dreaming of attending one of our classes. He had been saving his own money for some time and for his 21st birthday, received a gift from his mom: a pledge to help make his dream come true. Two weeks later a car accident tragically took his life.

We were moved when we heard about Jordan’s dream of coming to Grain, and we had no idea that Karen already had a plan. When family and friends asked how they could help, Karen simply asked for donations so that she could help fulfill the dreams of other young people.

The Jordan Project is her way of “paying it forward” by offering an annual board building scholarship to people 25 years and younger. The person selected will receive free tuition in any one of our classes offered at our shop in York Maine. You can choose to build any board we offer as a kit and to make it even sweeter, lodging right here on the farm is also included.

Here’s where it gets interesting: If Jordan were right here where you are right now – on this submissions page – and he was instructed to write a few paragraphs explaining why he should be selected for this scholarship, we are guessing his entry would be two words, rather than two paragraphs. Writing wasn’t really his thing. Photography, woodworking, music, painting…now you’re speaking his language. So if writing is your thing, fantastic, let it pour on paper. But, if not, no worries…it’s your heart we’re interested in. So just grab your medium and express yourself. And answer these questions…

• Basic Info: What’s your name and when were you born?
• Current info: What does life have you doing these days?
• Project info: Why are you interested in attending a class at Grain?
• Future info: Now you’ve shaped your board, where will it take you?

Use a photograph, a video, a song you wrote. Throw in a photograph of you and just do it, for Jordan’s sake. And please, have fun with it, that’s all we ask.

You can see more about Jordan Kelly and the scholarship program by following these links:
A brief history about how Jordan came into our lives.
How a group of people can come together to create something special, something that can spread around the world.

For more information on our classes, click here.

Jordan’s mom, Karen, and the entire Kelly family have become like family to us so we’re delighted to help them celebrate Jordan’s life and his dreams through the Jordan Project.