Sameritan Futures Lab

Youth economic advancement

County of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a countywide benefit) City of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a citywide benefit)

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

California has made strides in addressing climate change through legislation, especially in areas like energy and emissions. However, waste remains an underdeveloped frontier, and the state has yet to truly build a circular economy. Meanwhile, communities most impacted by pollution are often excluded from innovation pipelines. Youth from underrepresented neighborhoods, including those impacted by the foster system, are not disengaged, they’re uninvited.
For example, traditional science classes often fail to connect with their lived experiences. But if given the chance to create products from waste, youth can discover that they’ve been doing science all along—just in their own language. With the right environment, what starts as curiosity can lead to real enterprises that benefit their homes and neighborhoods.

The Sameritan Futures Lab is a hands-on circular economy innovation program for youth ages 16–24 from underrepresented communities. This lab activates young people’s creativity and curiosity through upcycling—transforming waste from food, fashion, and everyday materials into potential new products, prototypes, and even ventures. Participants are introduced to real-world sustainability challenges and are given time, space, and mentorship to experiment, learn, and develop tangible solutions.
Through workshops, mentorship, and guided team-based projects, youth will engage in ideation, design thinking, and product exploration—learning everything from natural dyeing (e.g., turning pomegranate skins into fabric dye) to packaging alternatives, furniture beautification, and more. How? The Lab will meet youth where they are—whether through in-person workshops, partner site activations, and/or take-home kits. By prioritizing access and reducing common barriers like transit or scheduling conflicts, we’re designing a flexible, high-impact experience rooted in equity and experimentation. The program ends with a public showcase, providing exposure, feedback, and even potential funding from aligned community members, organizations, or brands.
This is not just about teaching sustainability, it’s about making young people co-creators of the future.

If our work is successful, Los Angeles County will be home to a new generation of youth who see waste not as a burden, but as a resource. Young people, especially those from communities historically excluded from environmental innovation, will have gained tangible skills, earned income, and built creative confidence through circular economy experimentation. LA will benefit from emerging entrepreneurs, new community-led product lines, and bold sustainability ideas born from the very neighborhoods most impacted by pollution.
This shift won’t just be economic—it will be cultural. By embedding values of community investment early on, we’re nurturing a generation of changemakers who can now understand what slow consumption is, what a social enterprise and as well as learn how to reinvest proceeds into their neighborhoods. We are helping reclaiming power, pride, and possibility for those who’ve long been left out of the solution.