The Arthur M. Blank Foundation and Turner Invest in Atlanta's High School Students

ATLANTA, March 14, 2018 (Newswire.com) - Atlanta nonprofit re:imagine/ATL just announced their commitment to the future of talented teens through the creation of the re:imagine/ATL Alliance, a coalition of organizations joining together to build a creative economic pipeline that will support Georgia’s budding film and digital media industry. The goal of the re:imagine/ATL Alliance is to establish a more inclusive workforce that truly represents the diverse population of Metro Atlanta. The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation is leading the way with a three-year $285,000 investment. In addition to the Blank Foundation’s investment, more than 20 companies, including Turner, MailChimp, The Georgia Studio and Infrastructure Alliance, Spanx Foundation and AT&T, have joined the re:imagine/ATL Alliance, representing an amazing initial pledge of over $450,000. The re:imagine/ATL Alliance is calling on other organizations to join their endeavor and invest in Atlanta high school students.

“Corporate investment in our future workforce is absolutely critical. Engaging directly with young creatives and preparing them with the necessary skills will ensure relevancy and authenticity for Turner,” said Betsy Holland, director of culture & engagement at Turner. “We are asking organizations to support Atlanta’s young content creators by joining the re:imagine/ATL Alliance. Together we can ensure our city and our industry thrives into the future."

Transforming lives and communities begins with providing access and opportunity. We believe supporting young people in pathways that lead them from their schools into promising careers has a lifelong impact.

Penelope McPhee, President of The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation

In addition to their financial support, Alliance partners have agreed to invest in Atlanta high school students via time and talent, professional training, job shadowing, internship opportunities and access to space and equipment. "Transforming lives and communities begins with providing access and opportunity. We believe supporting young people in pathways that lead them from their schools into promising careers has a lifelong impact,” said Penelope McPhee, president of The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. “The re:imagine/ATL Alliance is an excellent way for companies to connect to the students and make a significant impact.”

For the past four years, re:imagine/ATL has supported Metro Atlanta’s growing film and media industry by exposing high school students to digital storytelling tools and careers - the first of many steps towards establishing a robust creative economic pipeline. According to recent reports, Georgia’s Centennial population (those born post-1995) is set to outpace the Millennial and Baby Boomer populations by 2020. Organizations like the re:imagine/ATL Alliance will create a viable workforce to support Georgia’s economic prosperity.

“Since we started, we’ve depended on industry professionals to mentor our students. These mentorships are real relationships with real-life impact, and right now we need the industry to continue their investments of time, resources and financial support in the next generation of storytellers so our future workforce is more inclusive, innovative and authentically representative of the people who grow up here,” said Susanna Spiccia, founder and executive director of re:imagine/ATL.

About re:imagine/ATL: re:imagine/ATL empowers the next generation of content creators in Atlanta. Since 2014, re:imagine/ATL has connected students through in-school and out-of-school programming designed to cultivate creative storytelling through film and digital media production. To learn more and get involved, visit www.reimagineatl.com. See the full list of committed re:imagine/ATL Alliance partners at www.reimagineatl.com/alliance.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Susanna Spiccia
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 678-522-5698

Source: re:imagine/ATL