Glow Up, Kid—A Free Youth Makeover

Support for foster and systems-impacted youth

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

The members of Radical Clothes Swap and Brown Girl Travels were all born and raised in East Los Angeles county. Our identities as women of color, Latinas, LGBTQ+, we understand what it is like growing up feeling underrepresented in creative fields. When you are a teenager being able to be around peers and mentors that share your identities who are interested in supporting your interests as well as finding your most authentic personal style, it helps positively influence your development as a young adult. We also understand what it's like growing up without the fiscal resources for self-expression when it comes to fashion. Our organizations teach our communities the power of resource sharing by providing free clothes, books, and curating free family friendly events.

Glow Up, Kid is a pilot program aimed to help support the improvement of unrepresented and marginalized East L.A. youths’ mental health, social development, and community building skills. Glow Up, Kid would be a 6-8 month long program where participants take part in planning a fashion show they would walk in. Throughout the program participants would be taking part in photo shoots, makeovers, and ultimately the fashion show. Participants would be encouraged to exercise their creative skills and collaborate with each other to bring their visions to life. They would be mentored by professionals in the art & fashion industry to introduce them to different skill sets including but not limited to: event planning, photography, fashion styling, modeling, community outreach, etc… Through the program we hope that participants find community with their peers as they collaborate, nourish their self-expression and in turn their self confidence, and express themselves authentically through fashion.

We envision our program to start a community of East Los Angeles youth that will feel empowered in their self-expression and themselves. We hope that this will kickstart creative movements and developments in East Los Angeles for younger generations.With our free resources (clothes and haircuts) we will help build youths' self confidence. With our mentorship program, they will work with professionals in the art and fashion industry to start or build on their portfolios. We aim to encourage youth to find self-expression through art, fashion and photography, while highlighting the importance and value of community building and resource sharing.

Our vision for success will be showcasing youths’ creative and artistic talents in planning and executing their fashion show, finding ways for self-expression and identity by experimenting with their style. Success will be measured by program enrollment and individual portfolios by the end of the program.

Ashley Garcia of Brown Girl Travels is an avid community event organizer, she will help curate the event and help with sponsor outreach.