Right now we have eight FLI Team Members making their dreams a reality, and doing so in a manner that will soon create concrete benefits to the community. One of the participants, 16-year-old Emily from Oakland, dreams of being a professional photographer. She has identified numerous professional photographers in the Bay Area who do the type of work she dreams of doing and will interview several of them to learn more about the photography profession and to develop valuable relationships. She has given some thought about how she can pursue her passion to enrich her community, and so far she has come up with three possible projects:

1. After photographing and interviewing immigrant families in the Bay Area, Emily could frame and sell her best work (within the frame is a narrative piece on each family), then donate the proceeds to a local organization that serves the needs of immigrant families.
2. Emily may create a photo exhibition of a wide variety of Bay Area families, demonstrating the diversity of families in the Bay Area, including a narrative about what each family brings to the Bay Area. Proceeds from the sale of a family's photograph will go to a local nonprofit of their choice.
3. Homelessness is a big issue in Emily's neighborhood, and she would like to raise awareness and understanding of their perspective. Using photography to chronicle the lives of local homeless people, she may share her art, and use proceeds to support the efforts of local organizations that serve the homeless population.

Emily, like all FLI Team Members, will soon select and implement one project that has the biggest "bang for the buck" or social/environmental return on investment. They will each have a $150.00 project budget, along with structured program support and weekly peer and staff guidance and feedback. Only one month into the program, Emily's FLI Team Members have connected her to professional contacts, helped her consider multiple plans as well as the logistics and cost/time requirements of her many project ideas. Feedback from the team has improved her presentation skills and confidence, and helped Emily to focus and improve her goals and objectives.

Just imagine what the world would be like if every young person had this kind of experience and impact in their community! Imagine the kind of community benefits that would arise! Imagine what the next generation of leadership would look like!

Veronica Benjamin

Ben Day

Ashley Garber

Emily Knell

Miranda Mickiewicz

Anna Phillips

Gina Ruth

Ben Westfall