February 1, 2025

Looking Back and 2024 Year in Review

  • Cameras
    FreshLens has given away 450 cameras to students meeting Basic course standards since 2017

  • Serving Chicago youth in all areas of Chicago
    Since our inception we have served students in 47 of Chicago’s 67 zip codes

  • We are now offering 5 courses
    Beginning
    Advanced
    Event A
    Event B
    Co-Gen

CoGen is our newest class that we offered through a grant from Innovation 80. Students are paired with a retired adult advanced photographer and they select a project to work on together. The program is not designed as a mentorship, but as a mutually beneficial program for young and adult participants. FreshLens students and their senior partners exhibit their work in a showcase at the end of the program.

  • Our most robust course offerings:

    • 2 middle school classes in Englewood with community partner A Knock at Midnight (AKAM)

    • One Summer Chicago: city youth work program in Englewood with community partner AKAM

    • 1 High School Beginning Program with Daniel William Hale High School of Medicine in conjunction with AKAM

    • 4 Basic Classes offered at Chicago Photography Classes site

    • 3 Advanced classes

    • 2 Event A

    • 2 Event B

  • Event Corp: Students completing 4 courses are eligible to be hired by outside individuals/organizations. The Corp has expanded to High School Graduates to enable them to continue to have these work experiences.

  • New Exposure Series: offered to Minds Matter and My Block, My Hood, My City

  • College Photography Majors: Since 2017 we have had students attend School of the Art Institute (2 new students were admitted in the fall of ‘24), Columbia College Chicago, New York University and Syracuse.

  • Professional Lecture Series: Professional photographers have spoken to our advanced and college students about the industry and professional advancement.

  • Alumni Dinner: FreshLens students who are in college come back to give advice to graduating seniors.

  • First Pickleball Fundraiser (July 2024) was a great success earning $45K

Focus on the Future 2025 Benefit
Save the Date! We are excited for our Biennial Focus the Future Benefit that will be held on Saturday, May 31 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. This year we are hosting the event at the iO Theater located at 1501 N. Kingsbury Street in Chicago. It will be a great opportunity to meet some of our talented students and see their work, it will feature a silent auction with donations from fabulous professional artists, unique experiences and much more! It’s really the perfect event—no sit-down dinner or long boring speeches—stop by on your way to dinner or on your way home. We will have drinks and light bites throughout the evening. Hope to see you there!

Corporate Donations
We are deeply grateful to Leofoto USA for their generous donation of tripods, tripod heads, L-brackets, rails, and more. While we receive many donations, contributions of this caliber are rare, and we couldn't be more appreciative!

Merch
In 2024, we expanded our merch offerings with coasters that feature select student work printed on ceramic tiles and FreshLens embroidered sweatshirts. Items are still being offered on our website, so please check them out and make an order today!

Lisa Stefaniak