GB Youth media:What we do and why
Our mission: Youth Voices
Our mission is to create communities where young people build the confidence and media skills to express themselves and to promote community building, multicultural understanding, and the common good.
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To realize this mission, GBYM provides local youth volunteers with media arts training, creative freedom, after-school activities, a summer apprenticeship program, annual events such as the Youth Media Festival competition, and a 3000 sq foot media arts studio.
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These GBYM activities fall into three service categories: space, skills and creativity, and advocacy.
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We are grateful to each and every youth volunteer regardless of where they are on their journey to stability and wellbeing, whether they need more support or they want to support their fellow students.
Reopening
We have reopened the media arts studio for in person activities. Youth volunteers also participate via zoom.
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We will continue to host free media arts and advocacy training for youth volunteers who want to help dismantle challenges such as excessively low minimum wages for essential workers, systemic racism, bullying, bigotry, and anti-immigrant policies.
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HVAC filters have been upgraded and we are running a free-standing air filter in the studio. Masks and distancing are required and all staff working in the studio are required to be vaccinated.
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Summer 2021
June through August, GBYM hosted 17 high school interns and apprentices who created videos on personal and social justice topics and were compensated $15 per hour.
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Fall 2021
September through December, approximately 50 youth volunteers in our after-school media arts program created short PSAs as well as art and design pieces, participating online and in person.
Our volunteers and staff hosted Fall Fest and holiday movie and game nights in November and December at our newly reopened media arts studio in Silver Spring.
Winter and Spring 2022
After school programming will continue in person, with the option to attend via zoom for certain classes.
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​Studio open hours for drop-in: Safe and inclusive, our space in Silver Spring will be open for drop-in, to do homework, use computers or A/V equipment this coming Winter/Spring 2022.
Youth Media Festival: annual prizes, event, and month-long exhibition and youth art pop-up space. This program is now open to students from across DC, Maryland, and Virginia.
Benefits
After-school activities free of charge; a place for teens to hangout comfortably and safely outside the home; earn Student Service Learning hours needed for graduation.
Monitoring and Evalution
Surveys: parents, students, alumni
Teacher reports on student engagement, wellbeing, and progress. For example engagement on scale of 1 to 5, progress (yes or no and in what areas), and wellbeing (changed, yes or no; concern, no concern)
Goals
Through GBYM’s programs, students have increased self-expression, confidence, leadership skills, and knowledge of civic activism and advocating for social justice causes.
Decision making
When we make plans, we start with our mission, vision, and values (as seen on our website). We ask our partners for guidance and information on the needs and preferences in the community. We survey parents and students we already know to ask about their needs and preferences. This coming year we will also be increasing our use of secondary data and reliable reports produced by or with major participation from BIPOC and LGBTQ+ researchers.
Numbers
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GB Youth Media’s 2021-2022 year is estimated to engage at least 400 students:
After-school program: 100
Summer DOCS: 15 (6 interns and 9 apprentices)
Silver Spring drop-in program: 60
Youth Media Festival competition: 250
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Financial:
Our annual budget is approximately $325,000.
We do our best to maintain reserves sufficient for eight months of payroll and benefits.
Income is approximately 75% government grants, 20% private grants, and 5% local individual donations.
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We complete a full external audit of our financials and procedures every year. We do not carry debt.
Montgomery County has donated our 10-year lease and it is renewable for up to 20 years.
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Fixed assets: $373, 400
Other assets including donated lease: $682, 680
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Locations
GBYM youth volunteers primarily live in a five-mile radius of our downtown Silver Spring, Maryland media arts studio. This includes Wheaton, Langley Crossroads area, Kensington, Hyattsville, greater Silver Spring, and Takoma Park. A portion of students participating in our programs are in greater Montgomery County including Gaithersburg, Rockville, Potomac, and Olney.
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GBYM youth volunteers complete our programs at our Silver Spring media arts studio, in apartment community rooms in Wheaton and Takoma Park, and online.
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Our partners and collaborators
Habitat America - Laptop distribution
Latina American Youth Center- DC: Studio sharing and upcoming collaboration
Montgomery Housing Partnership - Laptop distribution; FLOW program in Wheaton and Takoma Park residences, for middle schoolers
Adventist Community Services - Program collaboration in our studio
LCMC - Project regarding digital literacy and digital equity in education
Arts on the Block - Community youth room
Crittenton Services for Girls - Sneakers Program and media arts studio sharing
Community Bridges - Podcast Challenge and studio sharing
Arts on the Block - Studio sharing; Spring art exhibition 2022
Special thanks to Signarama for our lobby banner
As of February 2022, GBYM has a new roster of highly qualified and motivated teaching artists:
Graham Holford, Smeeta Narang and Morgan McKenzie, Khine Bonner, Jade Drakes, and Camilo Montoya, plus Shereka Mosley our program manager.
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The executive director spends 80% of her time on programming, including content creation, helping with classes, planning workshops, hiring new teachers, logic model, change theory, and surveys and evaluations.
The fundraising manager completes individual donor and grant management and working closely with the executive director on items such as change theory, logic model, the strategic plan, and evaluation surveys.
The program manager handles all enrollment, communications with parents, curating the spring exhibition, and managing the Youth media Festival competition, and teaches three art classes.
Volunteers - Thanks to the Cafritz Foundation, Catchafire expert volunteers have assisted us with our
renaming/rebranding,
Our executive director works directly with and supervises the volunteers.
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These are our new projects scheduled for 2022 and 2023:
The Animal Inside Us, taught by artist and goldsmith Jade Drakes
Films: Discussions with a Guest Artist (this spring Jade Drakes and Lauranee) taught by Graham Holford
Doc Shorts Workshop: Taught by Smeeta Narang and Morgan McKenzie. Film topic: students’ experiences in public schools and how they are impacted by counselors or lack thereof
Fine arts and activism: taught by Shereka Mosley, on Zoom for long-distance students
Storytelling in film: taught by Camilo Montoya