youTHink Summer 2020 Progress Report

SUMMER 2020

Progress AND Milestones

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youTHink goes virtual When COVID-19 shut down schools, youTHink adapted its programming model When schools moved to virtual instruction in mid-March, there was a lot of concern around youTHink—in particular, its participants. Many youth enrolled in youTHink programs face a great deal of hardship and economic adversity. We knew that when you disengage them from the school environment, you take away their safety net.

STUDENT AMBASSADOR PROGRAM: When schools announced closures, our Student Ambassador program was already in its third module out of four, and nearing seven months completion in the nine-month-long program. We had already made incredible progress and witnessed noticeable transformation in participants, so our goal was more to maintain engagement for future growth.

The last two modules—“Urban Planning & Design” with Monique Lopez of Pueblo Planning and “Theatre & Movement” with Naomi Ackerman of the ADVOT Project—were scheduled to take place at Mark Twain Library in LA Council District 8.

A combination of COVID-19 related factors led the Ambassadors to wrap early with plans to reconvene in Fall 2020.

However, participants were just coming off the exciting culmination of their second module, “Photography,” where they had the rare opportunity to exhibit their photographs at a local art gallery in Boyle Heights called Espacio 1839.

STUDENT AMBASSADOR ANNUAL RETREAT AT CAMP BOB WALDORF 2

The Ambassadors visited Self Help Graphics—a staple in the Boyle Heights community for the past 50 years—which specializes in printmaking that ignites activism for East LA residents. Students also took a trip to LA Plaza de Artes y Cultura in historic Olvera Street, a cultural organization that showcases the important contributions of Chicano and Latinx people in shaping Los Angeles.

FILMMAKING FELLOWSHIP While youTHink’s Student Ambassador program was nearing its final months, our 12-week-long Filmmaking Fellowship was just two weeks into the curriculum when COVID-19 hit. To succumb to the pandemic would have meant letting down a class full of students in one of the highest need parts of our community, East LA. When we learned that schools were closing, we acted quickly to identify an alternative method for program delivery, collectively deciding with the high school Journalism teacher, Brenda Casanova, and our facilitator and accomplished filmmaker, Elizabeth Gray Baynes, to transition to virtual instruction.

STUDENT AMBASSADORS LEARN ABOUT THE BASICS OF PHOTOGRAPHY IN THEIR SECOND MODULE

STUDENT AMBASSADOR FIELD TRIP TO LA PLAZA DE ARTES Y CULTURA

Over the next eight weeks, stu-dents learned how filmmaking can be a compelling medium to effect positive change within their communities. Casanova and Baynes delivered weekly instruction via Zoom, and classroom time was followed by one-to-one critiques and coaching sessions, with Baynes offering clearly outlined next steps via email to guide students in their script writing and editing process.

STUDENT AMBASSADOR FIELD TRIP TO SELF HELP GRAPHICS

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On May 27, 2020, students organized a Short Film Festival on Zoom, where they shared their final projects with fellow students, their families and their communities.

Their objective: document how the pandemic has affected your life, neighborhood and community.

ShareWell also invited key stakeholders, donors and funders to see the films and participate in a virtual filmmaker Q&A. At the end of the semester, despite the heightened impact of COVID-19 on their community, more than 70% of students finished the class for a final grade.

Transitioning youTHink to a virtual curriculum requires significant time and resources to meet the needs of high-risk students.

When you pledge a "chord" at the $25,000 level in the new Harmony Steps exhibit at the Cayton Children's Museum, you help provide a safety net for youth through the arts.

YOUTHINK: 2020-2021 ACADEMIC YEAR

YOUTHINK: 2021 AND BEYOND

With LAUSD announcing that it will resume virtually this Fall to limit the spread of COVID-19, youTHink is following suit, using key learnings from the virtual Filmmaking Fellowship to guide program plans.

As we re-envision program content and strategies for virtual delivery, we plan to use the next six months to restructure youTHink based on key learnings from the first phase of our program evaluation, which we started in summer 2019. This includes:

Our team has been working closely with LAUSD and community leaders in the council districts with the most limited academic resources to develop plans, with our energy focused on creating engagement in the absence of in-person interaction. We are also exploring some in-person engagement designed around social distancing given barriers around technical resources.

For the first time, youTHink is also piloting a partnership with LAUSD’s Office of Career Technical Education (CTE) to integrate the program as the capstone project for graduating students in eight schools in the Arts Media Entertainment pathway.

Outside of the classroom, we are working with YMCA in Council Districts 8 and 15 to adapt our neighborhood and after-school programming to engage high-risk youth.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

Thank you to our funders for their support of youTHink and our community access programs:

(HOLLYWOOD FOREIGN PRESS ASSOCIATION)

1. Build a responsive strategy for implementation when in-person gathering resumes.

2. Rebuild our partnership network to create new investment from teachers and schools.

3. Reduce the number of program offerings to strengthen student engagement and program completion rates.

4. Curate a selective group of program facilitators with proven success across arts modalities.

5. Ramp up our reach again when schools reopen.

Stay tuned for more updates on youTHink program plans for the 2020-21 academic year and beyond in the months ahead.

Louis L. Borick Foundation

Jennifer Simchowitz Jim Brooks Allen Family Foundation

The JIB Fund Larry Braun Lon V. Smith Foundation

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The Mark Hughes Foundation The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation

BECOME A MAJOR SUPPORTER TODAY &

YOUR PLEDGE WILL BE MATCHED UP TO $250,000 THE HUMANITARIANS ANNUAL GIVING CIRCLE $2,500 and +

THE ADVOCATES FOR ARTS ACCESS

Join our giving circle by making an annual pledge of $1,000 or more and become a voice for equitable access to the arts. Members are recognized on our Annual Donor Wall and in marketing publications.

Become a Humanitarian with a pledge of $2,500 or more and be recognized as part of the permanent "Reflections" installation at the Cayton for years to come. Pledges of $10,000 or more are recognized for the lifetime of the museum and can be paid over multiple years.

THE HARMONIZERS

THE CREATIVE VISIONARIES

$25,000 and +

$75,000 and +

Pledge a chord in the new “Harmony Steps" installation and help create harmony in our community when it is needed most. Chords can be pledged at the $25,000 or $50,000 level.

Recognition is for the lifetime of the museum and can be paid over multiple years.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE OR CONTACT: Esther Netter - Chief Executive Officer esther@sharewell.org

Leave your legacy by underwriting an exhibit or community space at the Cayton. Creative Visionaries are recognized on Exhibit Wing signage, as well as in our Generosity Garden and Reflections installation for the lifetime of the museum.

Pledges can be made over 5 years.

Carly Harrill - Chief Advancement Officer carly@sharewell.org 5