Power Up Their Potential

Your Giving Tuesday gift powers free after-school programs where teens learn filmmaking, podcasting, photography, and storytelling — all while gaining confidence, creativity, and real-world career skills.

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Classes and Programs

  • Two people at a table. One person is using a computer. The teacher beside him is giving feedback.

    2025-2026 CLASSES

    It’s time for a new school year!

    Starting Sept 22nd, join us for Photography, Podcasting, Animation, Filmmaking and Editing Classes!

    Register
  • A person sits at a table with a laptop. He is in front of stacks of boxes, presumably containing laptops. Three people are around him. One holds a boom mic, another is recording audio, and the third is recording with a camera.

    WORKSHOPS

    Throughout the School Year, AYM will offer Workshops on MCPS ½ days and No School days! Check our Calendar for the next Workshop!

    Sign-up
  • Three people are behind a camera. The frontmost one seems to be speaking to someone on camera. Behind her, someone is supervising audio recording. The person in the back is adjusting the camera angle.

    INTERNSHIPS

    AYM offers 2 paid internships each year, usually in the Spring and Summer. We also offer internships that fulfill MCPS Career Readiness requirements.

    Apply

AYM @2025 Smithsonian Folklife Festival

  • Two people in the foreground watch two AYM volunteers in the background drying a blue cyanotype image.
  • A logo reading "Youth and the future of Culture" surrounded by a streaky rainbow border.
  • Two people are behind a table with shirts laid out upon it. A woman points to one of the shirts. They appear to be making a business deal.
  • Four people sit on a stage with microphones in front of them. The person second from the left is speaking.
  • Two people at a table sculpting brightly colored clay. They are sitting across from each other.
  • A tray of assorted clay creations.
  • A blackboard reading "What does culture mean to you" in colored chalk.
  • A piece of paper being held with tongs. The paper is wet, appearing to be a cyanotype photo depicting two white stars and the letter R. The letter R is reversed.
  • Two painted sheets of paper covered in brightly colored foam shapes and wooden cutouts. This is done to create a cyanotype photo.
  • A painted sheet of paper covered in brightly colored foam shapes and wooden cutouts. This is done to create a cyanotype photo. To the left is a person cutting a foam star.
  • Two people talking. One is sitting down and wears an Action Youth Media shirt while the other is presumably a passerby.
  • A person in an Action Youth Media shirt holding up a piece of painted paper used for cyanotype making. They appear to be explaining cyanotypes. Their name tag reads "Nora T."
  • Three people sitting at a table and sculpting brightly colored clay. The pair facing away from the camera are an older woman and young child while the person across from them is an Action Youth Media employee.
  • A person sits at a table in front of an open laptop.
  • Two people at a table watch a third person demonstrate how to use a stop motion animation app. On the table in front of them, a phone is set up on a tripod, photographing an orange clay figure. Assorted clay is strewn on the table as well.
  • A photo of a person sitting at a table. With his left hand he holds an indistinct yellow clay object. With his right hand, he is holding a phone to photograph the object.
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GET INVOLVED

We envision young people shaping communities where everyone values and respects one another, where everyone has opportunities to express themselves using media arts.

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OUR PARTNERS

A graphic reading "National Endowment for the Arts" above a red, white, and blue stripe. Besides the stripe is smaller text reading "arts.gov".
A logo with "Department of Commerce" written underneath it. A graphic Reading "MSAC" with "Maryland State Arts Council below it.
A blue and green graphic of a stylized letter H. "Maryland Humanities" is written below.
Official county emblem of Montgomery County, Maryland.
Logo reading "arts & humanities council of Montgomery County"
Seal of the City of Takoma Park, Maryland.
Logo of stylized "A" in white text over a red background. Below, in white text, reads "Adobe"
Blue logo reading "BORIS FX" in white and grey lettering.
"Coverfly" written in white text upon a red background.
A graphic reading "Final Draft" with a stylized illustration of paper.
Four squares in red, green, blue, and yellow. To the right is "Microsoft" in grey text.
Minimalist lineart of a camera with "SPB" written in the lens. "SPB" stands for "Showtime Photo Booth".
Green decal with "Chino Cienega Foundation" written in grey to the right.
Circular logo with letters "CLA" and "Foundation" written to the right in grey.
Text reading "Eugene B. Casey Foundation".
Gold text reading "Harman Family Foundation".
Slanted line graphic with "Maryland Department of Service and Civic Innovation" written to the right in white, all atop a red background.

JOIN OUR MAILING LIST

People sitting in a room watching a video projected on a wall, with chairs and a couch in the foreground. The room has a ceiling grid with fluorescent lights and artwork on the walls.
There are several comfortable looking couches, with a two seater couch and three single seater couch with a colorful rug in the center and a small table. The space looks bright and comfortable, there is a back room visible with several desks.
A wide space with black and white tiles, there are two long desks against the wall in the back with computers and chairs. There are two long desks in the middle of the space with chairs. The space is bright.
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