Coping Skills & The Basics Of Illustrator

Can you believe we are already halfway through week 4 of mentorship? On Wednesday, our mentees participated in a coping skills workshop led by Erika Luna from the Oasis Project. As mental health is one of our three pillars, it is important we incorporate it into our mentorship. Throughout this workshop, coping skills were discussed amongst our mentees and Erika Luna. Our mentees learned how to deal with stress more constructively, establishing boundaries on what you cannot control, and skills to deal with stress.

We then transitioned to our next workshop with our mentorship coordinator, Sandra. The mentees and Sandra talked about the basics of Adobe Illustrator on an Apple iPad. All through this software was challenging to use, it was rewarding to see our mentees work together to meet their goal of designing something new!

What Is A Brand, Anyway?

Photo Credit: Mya Rose

Today in mentorship, our mentees learned what a brand really is from Deon Bonaparte. He explained that when creating a brand, you give the consumer a gut feeling, which then will create trust, which ultimately goes back around to what the brand is. They discussed the differences between brands and how the actions they take can impact multiple aspects of that specific brand. They also talked about what they think is the most important part of a brand; People, processes, or product. Deon had a lot of great things to share with the group and the mentees learned a lot today about what it really takes for a brand to be successful.

Photo Credit: Mya Rose

Reuse Depot & Veggie Rx

Our Mentees had the opportunity to photograph two amazing local non profit organizations.

The first one is Real Foods Collective x Veggie Rx, a nonprofit organization who focuses on food justice in the Maywood/Proviso district. Our mentees got to put all that they learned about photography to the test by photographing a farmers market and the on site garden for this amazing nonprofit.

The second is a unique nonprofit known as Reuse Depot, who sells reusable building materials to prevent them from going into landfills, as well as hiring those with past hardships giving them a second chance with employment opportunities Our mentees got to meet and hang out with the two cats who live inside the facility, as well as photograph the beautiful items for sale.

For live behind the scenes or more information on what are mentees are up to during the time of our mentorship, follow @thefirehousedream on instagram and check out our stories!

These Photos were taken by one of our Fall Mentees, Amie @amieisfan, inside Reuse Depot!

Photographed outside during the farmers market and the onsite garden, by Ian @snapshotsanalog