Fast Forward 2020: Thank You!

On Thursday, December 3, Youth Beat hosted Fast Forward 2020 -- our 3rd annual Screening Party and Fundraiser. And WOW— thanks to the generous support of the Oakland community, it was a huge success!

BIG BIG THANKS to the many community members who showed up to support Youth Beat’s students! In the coming year, your support will mean that low-income Oakland kids will get top-notch media training and mentoring. They’ll learn from accomplished media professionals, and become part of a peer and mentor community that helps kids step out of their comfort zone and build confidence and a vision for the future -- even during COVID!

The event was hosted by Snap Judgement’s Glynn Washington -- THANKS, GLYNN! And it featured highlight reels of student films, with a special spotlight on the work of A.J. Jimenez and Sara Lam, who were on hand for interviews with Glynn.  

We were also super proud to celebrate Youth Beat’s 10 Year Anniversary with a special award honoring Youth Beat founder Jeff Key. Jeff taught at Head Royce, an Oakland private school, for more than 30 years before taking early retirement to start Youth Beat.

“I just came to this realization that it was really important for me to take a little break and do some work in my community, and try to give kids opportunities that they never would have otherwise,” explains Key. “It just seemed to me that it wasn’t fair that certain kids have all these opportunities and other kids don’t.”  

Last, but hardly least, we awarded Youth Beat’s first-ever Emerging Filmmaker Award to Sophia Hawkins Harbor, who spent three years with Youth Beat before graduating in May. Sophia is now studying film at Drexel University, and she credits Youth Beat not only for building her love for and skill in filmmaking, but also helping her find the confidence to pursue her passion. We look forward to following Sophia’s development -- and we’ll be sure to update you, too!

If you missed the show, you can watch it here. And pass it on to a friend! Youth Beat’s students are talented and hardworking, but most can’t afford media gear or specialized training. They need people like YOU to help make it all happen! 

It’s not too late to help: go to youthbeat.org/donate to contribute to Youth Beat’s Future Filmmaker Fund today!