Thank You Oakland!

On Thursday, October 25, we invited Oakland out to meet our students and see some of their impressive work . . . and you, generous Oaklanders, did not disappoint.

The event raised over $15,000 for Youth Beat students!

Just as important, Youth Beat’s students went home that night feeling seen and valued -- walking a bit taller than before. It means a lot for inner-city youth to get their community’s attention, if even for only a little while. By showing up, talking to our students and exploring their work, our guests helped Oakland kids see themselves as capable, rising filmmakers, who can dream BIG.

You can check out all the great photos from the evening here.

We send special thanks to Mayor Libby Schaaf for coming out to speak, meet and support our students.

Thanks, too, to all of our event sponsors -- especially our Platinum Sponsor, Shonda Scott of 360 Total Concept. Shonda, you are a true champion for Oakland youth!

Additional thanks to StudioToBe for hosting us, Chef Cal Peternell for crafting a delicious menu for the evening, and the many, many local businesses who donated to our silent auction.

We also thank the many guests who came out and showed up for Youth Beat’s students. Your support ensures that low-income Oakland kids get high-quality training and mentoring from accomplished media professionals -- the kind of training and mentoring that, too often, is hard to come by in inner-city Oakland.

If you couldn’t make it but would like to donate, CLICK HERE. And if you want to do more, please follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. And refer a friend to Youth Beat Pro . . . they will get a professional quality video at a reasonable price AND provide paid, resume-building experience for inner-city Oakland kids.