Community Partner : New Lens Intern : Jesse Chen Site Supervisors : Rebecca Yenawine
What is New Lens ? New Lens is a youth driven social justice organization that makes art and media about issues where a youth perspective can inspire change . We work on a variety of social issues including employment , justice , health and education issues . We produce art and media on commission , teach youth in schools and communities and advocate for issues that impact young peoples lives . We employ youth as leaders and through their efforts we impact over 200 youth throughout the year
Tasks :
• Created promotional materials for clients including videos and posters
• Assisted in shooting and editing , and producing the third episode in adocumentary series called " Blackonomics
• Led fundraising campaign by designing and editing solicitation letter to distribute among community members and assisting in writing grant applications and reports for community organizations
• Taught and mentored 10 Baltimore City youth ( age 14‐20 ) in shooting , editing , producing videos
Working at New Lens was an invaluable experience . My summer there as part of CIIP helped me grow and learn as a teacher , mentor , leader , and Baltimore City resident . I developed my own filmmaking skills while teaching students the basics of shooting , editing , producing , and advocacy . In assisting with our youth program , I expanded my own knowledge of the issues facing Baltimore City , and particularly the black community , and what people are doing to fix them . I also learned more about non profit management and development , and how many small things go into making a non profit run smoothly . Overall I had a fantastic , educational and fun summer working with CIIP and learning from and with my coworkers and students . ‐Jesse