Every summer we put a call out for youth leaders to all of our High School programs. The Fresh Force program is an arts mastery opportunities for teens to take their passions and move them toward a solid profession. We recruit aspiring lyricists, performers, vocalists, recording engineers, beat makers, photographers, videographers, photo/video editors, and graphic artists to work on a dynamic team to create something new and inspiring for the community.

We interview each applicant and give them feedback on their interview skills. Many kids have never done a job interview, so we try to make every step of the hiring process a learning experience. We connect with family and help many of the teens through the Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU) summer job application process. But every year a couple young people are unable to successfully register for this awesome summer jobs program, which pays most of our Fresh Force participants an hourly wage to work with us for 5 weeks.  This IOBY campaign ensures that the teens from this neighborhood who deserve an opportunity to work on the Fresh Force team, but is unable to complete the YOU application process, can still make a modest pay check as they lend us their time and talents. By the end of the application process we will have about 15 high school students in our program.

Next we reach out to Refresh Collective veterans and past Fresh Force members to act as peer-mentors and young adult leaders to help us guide the high school students. These funds will also help us pay them a fair stipend for their time as young adults trying to make it on their own in this world. These peer-mentors are crucial to build our Refresh Collective culture and pass it on to younger generations. 

The summer job will start on June 21st and each participant will come already oriented and ready to hit the ground running. For five weeks the young people will be guided through the process of creating original hip-hop music from beginning to end. Each day will end with an "Encouragement Cipher" to build a supportive community environment. We will introduce guest artists, and work through conflict that arises in our collaborative creative processes. By the end of the summer we will have a brand new hip-hop album, music videos, album art and custom apparel. And MARK YOUR CALENDARS, on July 21 there will be a culminating performance at the Bop Stop on Detroit Ave.

Young people will gain real world work experience, learn how to work on a team through a complex creative process, learn the recording arts processes, develop meaningful lyrics, and produce it all together. With your help we will include young leaders that otherwise would be left out. You will make this amazing summer experience possible for teens and young adults from this very community.  These young leaders take this experience and blast off to affect the whole world with positive hip-hop!