( ENSPIRE Community Spotlight ) Real To Reel Global Annual Holiday Giveaway Powered By Better Youth And The RightWay Foundation
ENSPIRE Contributor: Taylor Groft
Better Youth and The RightWay Foundation have joined together to galvanize a global village of Foster and Former Foster Youth―a very vulnerable population, especially during the holiday season. Filmmaker Syd Stewart, Founder/Executive Director of Better Youth, Inc., and Filmmaker Johna Rivers, Co-Founder of Real to Reel Global, are proud to announce the annual Real To Reel Global Holiday Giveaway and Private Film Screening of Foster Boy. The virtual program, in collaboration with Amazon BEN and Skydance Media, will benefit over 100 foster and former foster youth and take place on Saturday, December 19th from 4:00 pm – 7:45 pm (PST) on Zoom. This year’s event has a theme of ‘We Got Your Back’, around which event organizers have rallied together to support youth in care.
In the times of COVID-19, this virtual event will have the unique opportunity to impact foster and former foster youth all over the world―locally, nationally, and globally. An online panel discussion will host a conversation featuring celebrity guests and foster youth speakers. This year’s celebrity guests include Actress Tiffany Haddish (Actress & Former Foster Youth), Actor Monti Washington (Tyler Perry’s Bruh), and Screenwriter Jay Paul Deratany (Foster Boy). Other invited guests include Franco Vega (Founder and CEO of The RightWay Foundation). Better Youth strategic collaborators include AT&T, Skydance Media, and Amazon BEN. The giveaway and film screening of Foster Boy will take place immediately after the virtual conversation.
This year’s participating entities include long-term program supporter AT&T who is committed to advancing education, strengthening communities, and improving lives. Better Youth’s new strategic partner, Skydance Media who is a diversified media company that creates high-quality, event-level entertainment for global audiences and brings to life stories with immersive worlds across its feature film, interactive, and animation divisions. Amazon BEN (Black Employee Network – Irvine) donated funds to support this year’s event and will participate in a Better Youth career readiness exploration roundtable in January 2021 during the national mentoring month.
This annual collaborative event is being hosted and produced by a cohort of former foster youth and supportive mentors who want to make a difference in their local and global community. This event is private and invitations are extended to current or former foster youth (verifiable by a foster youth-serving organization) and community allies via this RSVP link: https://holidaygiveaway.eventbrite.com
WAYS TO SUPPORT:
We are seeking monetary funds to support organizational support. To donate please visit: https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/holidaygiveaway
