First Mentorship Of 2022!

Photo Credit: Mariah Frank

3...2...1...It's mentorship day! Today we had our first day of spring mentorship! How exciting?! This day was all things paperwork, technology, and guidelines. During the first half of mentorship, we introduced ourselves and shared some fun facts about each other, then we went over guidelines and expectations for our mentees. We filled out some paperwork, and assigned cameras and laptops! This week’s goal was to establish trust and partnership with our mentees. At the end of the day, our mentees shared an impactful story so we can learn a little bit more about them! We can't wait for our 10 mentees to learn all things photography. Stay tuned through our Instagram (@thefirehousedream) to see more behind the scenes and mentorship days live in action!

Photo Credit : Mariah Frank

A Trip To ReUse Depot

Don’t you just hate how furniture and building supplies go into landfills? ReUse Depot, a non-profit organization, prevents this from happening by reselling items that would’ve been tossed away (https://reusedepot.org). On day 3 of learning photography, we took a trip to ReUse Depot for the second time. Our mentees got to meet the store cats, look around at all the amazing antiques, and on top of that they got to photograph all of it! Its was an amazing adventure! We can’t wait to come back!

We also learned some history at ReUse Depot…the Firetruck (pictured below) was a World war II Firetruck that was then donated to Maywood. At some point between the years 1943-1980’s this very truck was Maywood’s official Firetruck, meaning it was in our Firehouse! How cool is that?!

Sony Film Project Is Live!

We are so excited to share our Sony Create Action Film is live!

In Oct. 2021, we were selected to be the grant recipients of The Create Action Grant Program in which we were given $50,000 in cash to continue and expand our work, this Sony-produced short film sharing our story and $50,000 in Sony Electronics products to support our action plan. Jake from Sony Alpha came to the firehouse last month to film TFD during our mentorship program.

Over the past year, TFD has put in so much work and has grown tremendously. It is truly amazing to see it all come together the way it has and to be selected for this grant. Now being in partnership with Sony, we have even more opportunity to provide our young adults with access to the latest tech and equipment.

We are so excited to see what the future brings for TFD and how we can grow and expand to reach even more creative young adults of color.

In case you are interested in learning more, the Create Action Grant Program is open through March 29, 2022 and will provide grants to 10 different organizations total, with one new grant awarded each month.

To learn more go to: alphauniverse.com/createaction.

Coat And Food Distribution | December

Photo Credit: Mya Rose

This morning, Impact Church and God’s Heritage Full Gospel Church in Maywood hosted it’s monthly food distribution! This month’s included coats, gloves, hats, and scarves in addition to all of the food. Every third Saturday of each month, the two churches join forces to make this awesome event possible. It is something special to help out the community and all of the families in Maywood. They also offer prayer for those who choose to be prayed over and everyone is incredibly kind and welcoming. It is an honor for TFD to be there to support and document something like this through photography. To check this out for yourself, you can stop by next month to God’s Heritage Full Gospel Church!

Photo Credit: Mya Rose

Sony Film | Day 2

Photo Credit: Mya Rose

Wednesday night, we wrapped up filming with Sony! It was so rewarding to get exposure from a large company! For the last day, the mentees created a mock band called 2 Hot In December to create a story for Jake. Mentee Adlemy got some awesome shots for the band cover and everyone had a great time creating. Jake from Sony Alpha captured the excitement with some video for our short film being created by them! We are so proud of our mentees and how far they have come, as well as The Firehouse Dream for all it has accomplished this past year. We are grateful for the opportunities given and for everyone supporting us along the way! A big thank you to Sony Alpha and Jake!