Our Impact
BAM! Business Art Mentorship Youth Program began in Spring 2022 and has positively impacted many youth and their families in the Grand Valley. Youth are empowered as they gain life and business skills with the support of peers and local artists and participate in art-club, art classes, art shows, community events, markets, art contests, art commissions, radio interviews, internships, and art exhibits.
What Youth Say:
Youth ages 12-21 in the Grand Valley reported in a 2022 survey they experience a lack of safe places for recreational and social activities. They also reported they experience barriers to finding and accessing creative outlets and healthy activities.
Youth said what they like about BAM:
- Welcoming, affirming and safe space
- Freedom for self expression and being authentic
- Socializing, new friends and having fun
- Quality art supplies to use for creative expression
- Meeting local artists and learning new art skills
- Art shows and community events
*2022 BAM Youth Survey
DATA: March 2022-Aug 2023
125
# of community members who have volunteered at BAM
250
# of youth participants
10,284
# of hours volunteered
71
# of local creative professionals that have worked with youth in the BAM program
2,250
# of individuals positively impacted through BAM
70
# of community events BAM has participated in
$5,550
$ amount youth have profited in art sales through BAM
$750
$ cost BAM covers per-youth per-semester
$250
$ costs BAM covers per-month per-youth
$0
$ cost youth pay for BAM program and resources
75%
% of youth reporting low income households
86%
% of youth with 2 or more risk factors
62%
% of youth who identify as LGBTQ+ or non-binary
48%
% of youth at BAM in social services/foster system
4x
# of times LGBTQ youth are more likely to attempt suicide than their peers (Johns et al., 2019; Johns et al., 2020)
45%
% of LGBTQ youth who seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year*
+ 50%
% transgender and nonbinary youth who seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year*
40%
% reduction in suicide when a trustworthy adult is in a LGBTQ young persons’ life*
*2022 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health