Make a gift to support Baltimore Speaks Out

I like BSO because I really like cameras. In BSO, I am learning how to edit my photos. My voice is important because I have a lot of emotions.

-Breasia, middle school student

Whether your middle school experience was gel pens and composition notebooks or AIM and LiveJournal, there’s one thing everyone agrees on - middle school is complicated. Period. But, like any right of passage, it’s also a time that many young people start to develop a clearer image of themselves. Amidst the backdrop of change, budding personalities, and emerging peer groups, creative outlets can be transformative. They can lead to friendships, point towards a career path and shift how students move through the world.

Your gift will ensure that 72 students in our Baltimore Speaks Out middle school program will participate in an introductory media sampler workshop (in-person or online). As some of Wide Angle’s youngest media makers, they will explore storytelling through photography, video and design, experiment with new tools and techniques, and flex their media literacy muscles in the classroom. For many, this is their first time picking up advanced equipment or working with media educators and professionals in the field to hone their creative crafts. As students cultivate technical skills, their first exposure to critical media making can strengthen their artistic voice at an important time of self-discovery.

Think back on the passions you discovered as a middle schooler. Make a gift today to support a young person in developing their own.

Suggested Giving Levels

• $25: 1 week of program supplies
• $45: 1 hour of in-person teaching (1 lead and 1 assist)
• $90: 2 hours of in-person teaching
• $250: Program supplies for a trimester (1 cohort)
• $625: 25 hours (1 week) lead teacher wages

(check out the short video below of BSO students using high tech gear to interview and document staff from the National Aquarium and Blue Water Baltimore for their 2017 project, The Green Files. BTS video produced by Wide Angle Productions Director, David Sloan).