Hand a kid a camera.
Watch them find their voice.
IOU — Inspire Our Youth — teaches young people to pick up a camera, talk to strangers, edit a real story, and put it in front of an audience. Camera, interviewing, editing, vlogging, news. Hope and craft for the next generation.
What we teach
Four hands-on tracks. Kids can mix and match — most start with Camera & Field, then pick where their voice wants to go.
Camera & Field
Learn the gear that pros actually use — framing, audio, lighting, and getting clean footage on the move. From phone-in-hand to a real camera rig.
Interview & Vlog
Walk up to a stranger. Ask a real question. Listen. Kids build on-camera presence, prep questions that don't suck, and find their voice as creators.
Edit & Publish
Cut the story in DaVinci or CapCut. Pace, music, captions, thumbnails. Then post it — YouTube, Instagram, TikTok — and watch the work find an audience.
News & Storytelling
Cover what's happening in the city. Parades, town halls, school events. Learn how news pieces are built, how to be fair, and why the truth matters.
Interviewing fans at the Seahawks parade
Real day, real crowd, real questions. This is the kind of work kids in our program learn to do — show up to a big moment in the city, find the people, ask the questions, and bring the story home.
Filmed and produced by our founder, on the streets of Seattle.
Why it matters
Hands-on from day one
No long lectures. Kids hold real gear in the first session and shoot something that ships by the end of the week.
Mentors who do this for a living
Local creators, journalists, and editors volunteer their time — kids learn craft from people who get paid to do it.
Real audiences, real hope
We publish student work to a real channel. Seeing your video get views is what turns a hobby into a future.
Stories from the kids
The whole point. Real students, real change.
“I was so shy I couldn't order food at a counter. Now I run the mic on parade days. My mom can't believe it.”
“I came in to learn editing and left wanting to be a documentary filmmaker. My first short got 8k views on YouTube.”
“She used to spend hours on TikTok. Now she's the one making the videos — and actually proud of them.”
Get involved
Every dollar buys gear, edit-bay time, or a cohort seat for a kid who couldn’t pay otherwise. Every hour a mentor volunteers is an hour a young person spends learning a real craft from a real practitioner.
If you can give money, give. If you can give time, mentor. If you can give a story to interview, tell us.
Where your gift goes
- $25SD card and a basic shotgun mic for one student.
- $150A full cohort seat — eight weeks of camera, interview, and edit time.
- $500A loaner camera kit that travels with a kid for the whole program.
- $2000Sponsors an entire eight-student cohort, gear and mentors included.