About Us
PRODUCTION STUDIO
Kids In The Spotlight
We launched Kids In The Spotlight (KITS) Production Studio with Purpose to provide professional work opportunities for foster youth by bridging the equity and inclusion gap between two large entities impacting our economy: the entertainment industry and the child welfare system.
This studio is a social enterprise for film and television producers to rent space from us that includes a minimum of two youth, 18-24, serving as PAs per production. This studio is designed to create over 800 employment opportunities annually for foster youth and generate revenue to build our Performing Arts Residential Academy for youth in foster care. *PAs are not included in the hourly rentals
In the words of one of our youth films, “People always say that the sky is the limit, but how do they expect us to fly with burnt feathers and broken wings.” We invite you to become a part of something with a lasting impact. Your support of our studio helps our youth to fly.
If our studio is not the perfect space for your production, you can still make a difference by donating to Kids in the Spotlight.
Welcome to our Production Studio
KITS Origin Story
When Kids In The Spotlight Founder and Executive Director Tige Charity first visited an all-girls group home in 2007, she had no idea the size of the seed planted in her heart.
In May 2009, with no prior experience and only the help of family and friends. Charity created Kids In The Spotlight, Inc. (KITS). This unique and highly specialized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization provides a platform for youth impacted by foster care to tell their stories their way.
“We are teaching kids that they can re-write the end of their story.”
We are teaching youth that they have the power and skills to rewrite the end of their story and do great things. KITS trains these underserved youth to write, cast, and star in their own short films, which springs a pathway for healing, growth, and viable employment opportunities.
KITS partners with entertainment professionals to provide 10-week filmmaking programs on-site at foster residential facilities and partnering agencies throughout Southern California all year round.
Over 85 short films have been produced since the inception of Kids In The Spotlight. Some are award-winning short films screened at film festivals around the country, including three consecutive years at the Washington West Film Festival and the 2016 South By South Lawn White House Film Festival, where our youth met President Obama.
Who We Are
our Vision & mission
Our Vision
KITS envisions a pipeline of Black and Brown entertainment industry leaders in positions of decision-making power. In this way, KITS contributes to building generational wealth in communities of color, strengthens and grows Black and Brown entrepreneurship, and pursues the full and equal agency and participation of Black and Brown Americans in economic life.
Our Mission
KITS helps youth impacted by foster care heal and grow from trauma through the power of storytelling and filmmaking.
OUR Method
KITS provides space, experiences, and tools that enable youth to write, cast, and star in their own short films.
OUR outcomes
Independence and resiliency are as important, if not more so, than hard skills gained through KITS programs. In the words of KITS alumna Aliah White, “Kids In The Spotlight showed me that my voice is powerful and gave me the confidence to connect with the rest of the world.”
Films
Scripts
Youths
Awards
Tige
CEO
Raleigh
COO
Jaszmin
Studio Mentor
Ed
Studio Manager
Tamesha
Youth Advocacy & Talent Engagement
Joey
Youth Advocate Specialist
Regina
Advisory Board & Consultant
Kids in the spotlight
Our Youth
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Production Studio with Purpose provides work opportunities in the filmmaking and content creation space for youth ages 18-24 whom the foster care system has impacted. In America, we have over half a million kids in foster care. Approximately 10% reside in Los Angeles County with 80% of them Black and Brown. Over 50% will not reunite with their families. Less than 50% of foster youth will graduate high school, and less than 3% will graduate college.
Kids in the spotlight
OUR Talent
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Aging out of a traumatizing system as a legal adult leaves a lot of youths without guidance or support, creating a pipeline to homelessness, imprisonment, trafficking, early pregnancy, and suicide. These issues were massive before the pandemic and have only increased. This studio provides a rare opportunity for ongoing training, work opportunities, and professional connections to help youth prepare for college, careers, and community leadership. Using our studio creates a lasting impact, both for the creative economy and the youth we serve.
Production Studio with Purpose is an extension of Kids In The Spotlight (KITS), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded on May 6, 2009. KITS is a Black-led, Los Angeles County-based organization that provides a platform for youth in foster care, ages 12-22, to heal and grow from trauma through the power of storytelling and filmmaking. Through our Script-to-Screen programs, we provide an outlet & platform for foster youth to write, cast, and star in their own short films, telling their stories in their way, culminating in the annual KITS Film Awards, our version of the Academy Awards for youth from foster care.