Today we’d like to introduce you to Brenda Palmer.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Growing up in the inner city of Chicago, I developed a passion for making a difference. Having earned a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication and a Master of Arts in Television, Radio and Film, I was tasked with discovering my true purpose with the lack of early exposure to the arts as a career. I have a strong belief that influencing an industry where so many voices are underrepresented starts with educating our youth.
In 2014, I directed and produced a documentary entitled “Beyond The Image,” which is a piece that focuses on the image portrayals of African American women in the media and how they affect future generations. I am particularly passionate about using the art of film-making as an opportunity to bring diversity to storytelling. I feel that its a medium that inner city youth aren’t exposed to enough. Through my documentary, I was inspired to create Impact The Image.
Impact The Image is a nonprofit organization that exposes youth, grades 6th-12th, to creative careers. We launched November, 2017. In the summer of 2018 we curated a 6-week summer workshop series in partnership with By The Hand Club for Kids located in the Austin neighborhood. Continuing our partnership with By The Hand, we are in the process of curating a summer workshop series for the Cabrini neighborhood launching in July as well as a fall series taking place in the Austin community. Impact The Image presents creative fields not just as a hobby, but as a career path. Impact The Image is a necessary program because children in the inner city of Chicago deal with many internal and external pressures on a daily basis. I believe there is a major need for our youth to develop their voices and evoke change in their communities. I know that presenting the problem doesn’t help, but creating the solution is how we truly make a difference. I believe my purpose is not to find fault with the current state of the creative world but to educate, inspire and develop the next generation that will create the change, and Impact The Image.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Smooth is not the adjective I would use to describe my journey. Running an organization is hard work. Especially organizations that are passion projects at the heart of them. In the beginning, it’s a lot of working independently to make things happen. The biggest issue is finding people whose hearts and motives are aligned with the mission, to be apart of your team. Having the necessary skills to help me progress is not enough. I need people on the team who possess the same passion as I do for the children and the vision of Impact The Image. I am a woman of faith and that has been what’s kept me going. I believe Impact The Image came from God’s heart, and He’s proven time and time again that He has things taken care of. God has been placing the right people on my path who just want to help and be apart of Impact The Image prospering. They recognize the need for our youth and they want to see them succeed. It’s important to trust people to help as well. Every great thing progresses with a team.
Please tell us about Impact The Image.
Impact The Image is my baby. Growing up on the west side of Chicago and attending the neighborhood school, I didn’t feel like I was presented with career options outside of the normal teacher, doctor, lawyer spectrum. It wasn’t until I went to college that I discovered the fields of marketing, tv/film production, etc. There was this whole world, that I had no idea even existed.
Impact The Image presents the creative world as a career path to 6th – 12th graders. We expose them to colleges who offer programs of study in the creative fields. That is what I believe sets us apart from other organizations. Often times the creative arts are presented only as a hobby. The youth get excited and are taught to create things, they even fall in love with the craft, but all without the knowledge that this is something they can study, or it can be their career.
I am most proud of my organization providing me with the opportunity to give back to the community that raised me. I have the privilege of bridging the gap from dreams to careers. I’m so fulfilled knowing that I have a direct impact on the future of the greatness produced in my community.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I had to start over I would have built a team first and foremost and progressed from there. I have had to turn down opportunities due to the fact that I couldn’t be in more than one place at a time. I would have launched with a partner who shared the passion for impacting the youth so we could cover more ground. I didn’t realize how much of a need there was for my program starting off, I figured it would start off small and then create a space where it was needed. But, there was an instant demand. I think it’s important to prepare for success, just as much as we prepare ourselves for failure. I also would have secured investors earlier on to have sustainable financial backing, to eliminate some of the out of pocket start up cost. On the other side of that, I feel like if people know that you will invest in yourself, they won’t have a problem investing in you.
Don’t be so hard on yourself. Allow yourself some space to make mistakes and understand that growing a business is a process and a journey. It takes time.
Contact Info:
- Website: Impacttheimage.org
- Email: bpalmer@impacttheimage
- Instagram: @impacttheimage
- Facebook: @impacttheimage
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