Youth Venture United States

DreamCity is an arts organization based in the nation’s capital that focuses on harnessing the voices, ideas, and dreams of young adults in the Washington Metropolitan area. They utilize the arts to empower communities from within by instilling financial literacy and educational self-reliance among young adults who participate with DreamCity. In 2006, DreamCity performed The 70© during the Hip Hop Theater Festival. Over 4,500 people have seen them perform.

“Saving the Globe—One French Fry at a Time” became the cry for turning vats of used vegetable oil into fuel to run a school bus! They built a processor to transform used vegetable oil into bio-diesel fuel then converted a small school bus to run on it. The bus will be used to promote the alternative energy source and provides an environmentally friendly mode of field-trip transportation for students.They are working on designing a solar panel that will power a larger fuel conversion processor.

The young people in Sunset Park, Brooklyn had no artistic outlets until E.X.P.R.E.S.S.I.O.N.S, was launched which teaches young children how to express themselves through art. They hold weekly after school classes at a local elementary school, where students learn photography, poetry basics and hear guest lectures from professionals in the field. It also teaches a class devoted to helping young people resolve and depict conflicts through photography.

Through SeniorConnect, teenage volunteers visit assisted living facilities with laptop computers and help residents set-up email accounts. They help residents compose, send and receive e-mails, while a bond forms between the young and old. The team works weekly with about 20 residents in 5 local assisted living facilities. In recognition of her efforts, the lead venturer received the 2005 Outstanding Youth Care Giver of the Year Award. It is now an official program of the American Red Cross.