Future Focused Academy

📣 Calling All Erie Professionals & Business Owners!

We’re gearing up for another powerful year of our high‑school program, and we’re looking for passionate, local professionals who want to pour into the next generation.

🟣Do you love what you do and want to share that energy with young people?
🔵Do you work for an amazing company more teens should know about?
🟢Are you in an industry that young people rarely hear about but absolutely should?
🟡Do you have a life skill, message, or story that could inspire future leaders?

If you said yes to any of these, we want you in the room. Our guest speakers help students explore careers, build confidence, and see new possibilities for their future — and your voice could be the one that sparks something big.

If you're interested in getting involved, please submit your information here:
https://tinyurl.com/nhapt96t

Let’s show Erie’s youth the incredible talent, creativity, and opportunity that exists right here in our city.

Yesterday reminded us — once again — that our village is powerful. Because of you, Erie Gives Day became a celebration of community, generosity, and belief in the futures of the young adults we serve. 💛

Every donation, every share, every comment… it all matters. And you showed up.
You showed up for the students opening their first bank accounts.
You showed up for the young adults practicing interviews, building confidence, and stepping into paid work experiences.
You showed up for the youth who are producing podcasts, launching businesses, and setting big goals for their futures.

We are deeply grateful for this community — for the way you rally around our mission, invest in our young people, and help us create spaces where they can grow, lead, and shine.

Thank you for believing in them. Thank you for believing in us.
Our village is strong because you are in it.

🔥 “I’ve got a fever… and the only prescription is MORE DONATIONS!” 🔥
Be honest — you heard that cowbell while reading this. 😅

Today’s Erie Gives Day and we’re bringing BIG Walken‑level energy. Walken said you need to “really enjoy the space”… and that’s exactly what we help young adults do — step into their future, own their confidence, and really enjoy the space they’re growing in.

And let’s be real: we go just as hard for our young adults as Will Ferrell went on that cowbell.
(Which is… aggressively, enthusiastically, and with zero hesitation.)

Click the link and help us keep the beat going for Erie’s youth.
https://tinyurl.com/56t5sw5c

Meet David‼️

David, 20, is one of our incredible Community Cohort graduates — and his journey shows exactly what happens when young adults get the support, skills, and community they need to thrive.

During the program, David opened his first bank account and completed credit counseling with our partners at ERIEBANK, taking huge steps toward financial independence. He’s also set a big personal goal: purchasing his first home by age 25 — and he’s already laying the foundation to make it happen.💪🏡

David came into the cohort with professional photography and videography experience, and he quickly stepped up as the lead producer of our youth‑run podcast, Enrich + Elevate. His creativity and leadership have shaped the entire project.🎬

And just yesterday, through our partnership with PA CareerLink Erie County/Oil Region, David began a paid work experience at CAM Erie — another one of our incredible community partners. Over the next 300 hours, he’ll learn all things media, sharpening his craft and elevating his own business…
Yes, he has his own media company: Keystone Region Media. 🚀👀

We’re so proud of David — his drive, his growth, and the future he’s building with intention and heart.

Your donation today on Erie Gives Day helps us create more opportunities just like this for young adults like David.
https://tinyurl.com/56t5sw5c
Hands‑on learning. Paid experiences. Real‑world skills. Community connections.
This is what your support makes possible. 💛

🎉 GOOD MORNING, ERIE — IT’S ERIE GIVES DAY!
We cannot contain our excitement today. 😅💛
We’ve basically been running around yelling “IT’S ERIE GIVES DAY!” since sunrise — we’ve waited all year for this moment and it’s finally here.

So don’t be a cotton‑headed ninny‑muggins…
Donate now to support young adults on their path to success.
Your gift fuels transportation, meals, hands‑on workshops, and youth‑led projects like our podcast Enrich + Elevate.

Let’s make Buddy proud. Let’s make Erie proud.
https://tinyurl.com/56t5sw5c

Today we’re celebrating the hard work happening inside our Community Cohorts — like these moments captured during mock interviews and credit counseling sessions.

Our young adults practiced real‑world skills: shaking hands, answering tough questions, learning how credit works, and building confidence that will carry them into every future opportunity. These are the kinds of experiences that change trajectories. 💛

Your support tomorrow on Erie Gives Day helps us keep doing this work. It fuels hands‑on learning, brings in community partners, and ensures young adults have access to the tools, guidance, and encouragement they need to succeed.

When you invest in Future Focused Academy, you invest in Erie’s future.
https://tinyurl.com/56t5sw5c

🎙✨ Behind the Scenes
Even after graduating, our young adults still show up — carving time out of their day to plan, prep, and map out podcast sessions for Enrich + Elevate. Topic ideas, guest speakers, scheduling, production… all real‑world, résumé‑boosting skills they’re building together.

This is what community looks like. This is what investing in yourself looks like. And this is exactly what your support helps make possible. 💛

Your generosity on Tuesday for Erie Gives Day helps cover equipment, software, incentives for our youth‑run podcast, plus transportation and meals for Community Cohorts — the things that keep programs like this running strong.

Let’s keep creating spaces where young adults can grow, lead, and shine.

https://tinyurl.com/56t5sw5c

And a big shoutout to Cafe 7-10 for keeping us fueled during our latest planning session. 💪