Youth leaders invite you to celebrate their STEAM-related achievements & community
C4K’s youth members invite the residents of Charlottesville to “C4K Live” – a free, fun, diverse community event, celebrating youth voice, tech, mentoring, community and 21st-century skill development. C4K Live is free and open to the public and is hosted on Friday, August 24, from 5:00 – 7:00 pm at C4K (945 2nd Street SE, in Ix Park).
Throughout the year, C4K’s youth members (who are between 7th and 12th grade and eligible for free and reduced lunches at school) work shoulder-to-shoulder with mentors to use professional-level technologies and develop real-world skills like coding, audio production, digital photography, filmmaking and videography, robotics, electronics, and graphic design. One of the most important things C4K does is help local youth imagine bigger and better possibilities for themselves.
At C4K Live, youth will be showing off projects they’ve been working on this year, from robots and websites to rockets, music videos and interactive art. Youth will also be talking about some of the amazing experiences they have had this past year:
– Aleena and Lima won the Youth Business Challenge at Tom Tom Founders Festival.
– Aleena’s documentary Hijab won first prize at Global Re@ch, an international youth media conference.
– Youth took field trips to 11 local businesses and colleges, seeing first-hand how the skills they are learning at C4K can translate into internships, jobs, and further education.
– Youth created the Youth Council, an elected body of members, helping shape C4K programming.
– Basir, Brittany, and Trevoris will present on their experience at Teen Summit, an international youth leadership, and technology conference in Boston, attended by youth from 20+ countries.
C4K Executive Director, Kala Somerville says, “At C4K, youth connect the dots between the STEAM skills they are learning now and the jobs and education they can have in the future. We are encouraging the public to meet and celebrate our youth on Friday, and consider becoming involved in making a real impact in our community, by mentoring! Mentoring relationships let a young person know they matter. Plus, mentoring is fun!”
In addition to the tech skill development that happens at C4K, Juandiego R. Wade Chair, Charlottesville School Board and C4K Mentor, observed the inclusive and welcoming culture at C4K: “One afternoon, I was at C4K working with my mentee. A young lady came in, and it was almost like she was at home. She dropped her books and a book bag and violin and things like that, and she let out a big sigh, as if she were saying, ‘I’m in a safe place. I’m at home.’ I thought, ‘This is what we need for our youth. This is what our youth need.’”
Members of the public can RSVP at http://bit.ly/c4klive, or just turn up for the open house between 5 pm and 7 pm. C4K Live is generously sponsored by: Ting, Rede Wealth, The City of Charlottesville’s Office of Economic Development, C&F Bank, Davenport & Company, Hantzmon Wiebel LLP, Merkle, Teamed, University of Virginia Community Credit Union, Virginia National Bank, Williams Mullen, The Pritchard Family and Watermark Design.
