Along with encouraging the students to dream and plan, STL | LIFT helps the students prepare for the future they aspire to live. This is accomplished through internships and job shadowing opportunities like the one Danise, featured two weeks, got to participate in. Another way the program helps prepare the students for the future is through Learning Bootcamp, which both Danise and her sister Chanel attend. Oh, by the way, this is Chanel. Chanel is a lively spirit, always phot

To get inner-city teenagers with poverty mindsets to think about the future is a challenge to begin with. The STL | LIFT program understands this reality and mentality and fights against it by encouraging the students to dream and plan. They make career aspiration and interests a regular topic of conversation. From these conversations, internships and job shadowing experiences are set-up for the students so that they can get a better idea of what it would be like to work in t

So far, the pictures included in the series have been accompanied by stories and experiences. This entry is different in that I am going to let the pictures speak for themselves and provide guiding words. I challenge you to think about what you see and the story you create. (Makayla is featured in this entry as the agent of restoration. She diligently and faithfully tended to the garden every Saturday as if it were her own because she knows and believes that in some way, it i

St. Louis International Film Festival (November 1 – 11) – This film festival showcases the very best in cutting-edge features and shorts from around the globe. The majority of the more than 400+ films screened – many of them critically lauded award-winners – will receive their only St. Louis exposure at the festival. List of shows and information here: https://www.cinemastlouis.org/films. Whiskey in the Winter (November 17) - Whiskey In The Winter is a whiskey festival that w