HUDSON: Singer and songwriter Jesse Ruben has written a lot of songs about relationships.
“Songs about relationships are great,” the Philadelphia native said. “But there are other things to write about, things going on in the world, things going on in your life.”
And one of those things is helping others. Ruben, 30, who now lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., is spreading his message of doing good through his We Can Project, an initiative that inspires and connects students to the difference they can make in their lives, their communities and in the world.
Ruben stopped in Hudson this week to talk to students at McDowell Elementary School and Seton Catholic School and to perform at Seton Thursday night.
The McDowell and Seton students are working together to raise funds for library books for Barberton elementary students. Proceeds from Thursday’s concert will go toward the effort.
The collaboration arose when McDowell third-grade teacher Kristen LaScola approached her friend Sarah Jackson, a seventh- and eighth-grade teacher at Seton. LaScola had already been involved with We Can for two years. She taught her students Ruben’s We Can song and invited him to visit her class. This is his third visit to Hudson. He has visited schools across the U.S. and in Canada and is talking about taking We Can overseas.
“Being a kid is really hard right now, much more challenging than when I was a kid,” he said. “If I can do anything to make it easier and encourage kids to be nice to each other and explore new things and explore new interests, that to me is very fulfilling.”
“This has been a great opportunity for me, the district and our kids to make a difference,” LaScola said. “This is a way they can really come up with some great ideas and see the difference they are making. They also get to meet a singer/songwriter who has overcome so much to get where he is. It’s a great message that I think kids really need to hear.”
This is the first year for the McDowell and Seton collaboration.
“We wanted to create our own We Can initiative, so we decided to help a school in need,” LaScola said. “We decided that ‘We Can’ fund a library for Barberton elementary students.”
“The song We Can helps students recognize the potential that they all have within and realize the good they can do for others,” Jackson said. She started playing Ruben’s songs for the students in September. “The kids just absolutely loved it … You would see them working at their desks during their bell work, singing to themselves.”
Ruben met with the students in the school’s chapel before performing at an assembly.
He greeted the students and then shared a few facts about himself. He has a twin sister who is 4 minutes older. He’s the quiet one.
He talked about his experience running the New York City Marathon, which is referenced in We Can.
After his best friend was paralyzed in a fall at 18, Ruben began work with the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, which asked him to run the marathon to raise money for the organization. It took three rounds of asking, but he finally agreed.
He came in 14,786th.
“No matter how long it takes you to run a marathon, when you cross the finish line, you get a medal,” he said. “It’s just about doing something really hard. I’ve done four marathons and they were the best days of my life.”
After his first one, people would tell him they thought it was cool he did it. Then they would tell him something they wanted to do. He wanted to write a song that would give people permission to do something they were scared to do, so he wrote We Can.
He asked the students what their personal ‘I Can’ projects were. “I can learn German,” one said. “I can learn to play electric guitar.” “I can learn to sing,” said a third. “Me, too,” Ruben joked.
After his last marathon in 2012, he was diagnosed with Lyme disease, after which he spent about two years lying in bed and going to the doctor. He has made a full recovery, but the disease remains in his body. Symptoms can come back if he has not gotten enough sleep or if he is stressed. The experience has also stayed with him.
His ‘We Can’ project is to cure Lyme disease. He ran his last NYC Marathon to support research, raising $8,000 through a fundraising page and working with groups in Washington, D.C., to talk about treatment and funding.
Later in the afternoon, he played a short concert for all the students in kindergarten through eighth grade in Seton’s family center. Some songs about relationships did make it into the set: “I know it might sound sappy, but you make me so happy, like the first day of summer,” he sang in First Day of Summer.
The students held up their ‘I Can’ signs and tapped their feet as he played his guitar onstage.
Of course, the last song was We Can. “Will you sing along with me? I’ve been doing a lot of singing today. Boy, would I love some help,” he said.
The children’s voices swelled to join his, filling the room. They knew every word.
“It doesn’t matter if they don’t believe, it doesn’t matter if they do not understand, cause every dream that I’m trying to achieve, I can, I can, I can.”
Monica L. Thomas can be reached at 330-996-3827 or mthomas@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @MLThomasABJ and www.facebook.com/MLThomasABJ.