Tige Charity is a visionary, a woman of radical faith, and a servant leader. After moving to Los Angeles with her husband, actor Antonio Charity, Tige Charity visited a foster youth girls’ home where her husband was teaching acting classes. “It cracked my heart wide open,” she says. Two years later, in May 2009, she founded Kids in the Spotlight, Inc. (KITS), recently named the 2022 FosterMorey Awards’ Organization of the Year. “I want to give foster youth the opportunity to share their story,” she says, “to let the world know their value and the fact that foster care does not define them; and, to show the industry the hidden jewels that are in the foster care system.”
In KITS’ flagship Script-to-Screen program, Los Angeles youth in/from foster care ages 12-22 write, cast, and star in their own short films under the mentorship of industry professionals from directors and screenwriters to lighting and set designers. The annual KITS Film Awards shares the year’s collection of short films written by and starring KITS youth participants with over 500 peers, friends, family, providers, personalities, and other stakeholders in attendance. Since 2009, KITS has created over 85 films with more than 850 foster youth.
FWM: You’ve created a million dollar organization that provides a platform for kids in foster care to tell their stories. Please share your story and what fueled your desire to take your vision to foster care kids.
In 2006, after moving to Los Angeles with my husband, actor Antonio Charity, I had the opportunity to visit an all-girls foster youth facility where Antonio was conducting free acting classes. I love Antonio in his element. This experience cracked my heart wide open. As I toured the foster care agency, an urgent need to serve youth in foster care inspired and irreversibly changed me. I remember thinking how blessed I was to be raised by a mother and a father. I witnessed a few of the girls “acting out,” and I immediately began to judge them in my head before quickly correcting myself. Realizing that they weren’t just “acting out,” but instead asking, better yet begging for attention. During this visit, a strong desire arose within me to make a difference in the lives of those remarkable young girls I saw that day, but I didn’t know exactly how I could help. The mentor director who gave me a tour of the facility suggested I be a mentor. I didn’t know what that looked like because I had never had a mentor. In truth, I didn’t want to be a mentor because I knew I would mentor from a place of sympathy and that sympathy alone would not help them. I didn’t know what more to do, but I always remembered them.
It wasn’t until over two years later that I figured out exactly what I could do. It was Good Friday, April 10, 2009, when I cried out to God for answers. That was the night of my temper tantrum. I was home alone that night, crying and asking God what His plan was for my life. After I finished sobbing for what felt like two hours, I got really quiet and finally began to hear God speak. That night, God reminded me of my brief time with the young girls from the facility and how the experience affected me. It’s still so very clear. The night God reminded me of my experience with those girls He said, “Give those kids something you love. Give them the arts. Create a platform for foster youth to create, write, cast, and star in their own short films. But don’t stop there. Create an “Oscar-like” event where you showcase their films and invite industry professionals to celebrate with the kids and to give awards for “best actor, best screenplay, best film, best-supporting actor, and best ensemble cast.” The inspiration started pouring into me so quickly that I jumped out of bed, dried my weeping eyes, grabbed a journal, and started furiously writing down the vision. Journaling isn’t my strong suit; I’ve tried it a couple of times but was never consistent with it. Yet, that night I had to journal what I was experiencing. God gave me the title “Kids in the Spotlight.” Before this moment, I’d never felt so inspired and invigorated in all my life. I cried and prayed for direction and the confidence to pursue God’s purpose for my life. And He answered so very clearly. Then, in May 2009, I founded Kids in the Spotlight, Inc. (KITS). I’ll never forget how this vision was birthed.
Purpose woke me up, and impact fuels my passion. My alarm clock is giving youth in foster care an outlet and platform to heal and grow from trauma through storytelling and filmmaking. Purpose wakes me up in the mornings. Watching our participants embrace the reality that they CAN do GREAT things because they were created to do great things is like watching cocoons transition into beautiful butterflies. It is the most exciting part of my job.
FWM: Tell us about the KITS’ flagship Script-to-Screen program. Are there recurring themes?
In KITS’ flagship Script-to-Screen program, foster youth ages 12-24 write, cast, and star in their own short films under the mentorship of industry professionals. The annual KITS Film Awards shares our year’s collection of short films written by and starring KITS youth. The youths are writing stories about abandonment, neglect, politics, bullying, trafficking, social justice, and about love, hope, and possibilities too.
Transitional-age youth, ages 18-24, have access to an increasing array of mentored work opportunities through KITS’ industry contacts. KITS also contracts with corporate and non-profit clients to produce peer-to-peer social media messaging by KITS alums. Our new Elevate Youth California documentary project employs three KITS alums full-time for 2.5 years.
In December 2022, after a multi-year search, KITS secured a 5,300-square-foot lease-to-own studio and office property in Van Nuys. In the making for years, KITS’ Production Studio with Purpose will open its doors in 2023. This social enterprise will provide transitional-age youth with pre-professional education, training in media arts, including digital media arts, and entertainment and content creation jobs.
I want the readers to know that we get to work with some of the most resilient, intelligent, talented, and remarkable young people I’ve ever known. In the words of one of our youths, “People always say that the sky is the limit, but how do they expect us to soar with burnt feathers and broken wings.” We want people to know that we are working tirelessly to restore those burnt feathers and broken wings, and we invite others to join us in giving our youths hope for a better tomorrow.
FWM: You were featured by Christine Devine on Fox 11 News Los Angeles twice in the last 13 months with a couple of our youth who are part of the KITS program. What makes them so special? Is there potential for Hollywood stardom?
We work with talented youth who just need an opportunity to shine, and that’s what we do at Kids in the Spotlight. We give them a platform to shine and invite others who help us ensure our youths are heard, seen, validated, celebrated, and employed. Yes, there is definitely potential for Hollywood stardom. Several of our youth are now working professionally in the entertainment industry.
FWM: Can you share a few proud moments during your journey?
Because KITS seeks to have our youth filmmakers seen, heard, validated, celebrated, and employed, the proudest moments come when those goals were met. From the 2016 South By South Lawn White House Film Festival, where our youth met President Obama and screened their short film, “Time for Change,” to having our youth featured on the Jim Jefferies Show and the Kelly Clarkson Show, their stories are making an impact around the world. Still, it’s the employment opportunities that really impact outcomes for KITS youth as they age out of the foster care system. ICM Partners first broke the barrier by offering KITS alumni paid summer internships. In 2022, KITS was awarded funding that allowed eight alumni to put the soft skills they learned through KITS to work as Youth Producers for two high-profile clients, one with a series of commissioned PSAs, and the other with an ongoing multi-year feature-length documentary. But our biggest success story which has provided me more than a few proud moments to date is dayday, an alumnus from the very beginning of KITS. After graduating from Otis College of Art and Design, he is working full time in the industry as a director and content creator for companies like BET+ and Hulu. In fact, we have an exciting partnership in the works because of dayday’s glowing referral of KITS.
FWM: Kids in the Spotlight won the FosterMorey Awards “Organization of the Year” in 2022. What makes your organization shine?
Our mission, youths, and impact make us shine. Many tears, prayers, volunteers, and very long work hours went into building Kids in the Spotlight.
FWM: Tell us about the Kids in the Spotlight Channel on indieFlix.
The partnership first came about while everyone was sheltering in place during the start of the pandemic. As we weren’t able to meet in person to do programming and productions, I was more determined than ever to find other ways for our youth to still have an outlet for the stories they’ve told. When we started this journey in 2009, our goal was to give a voice to the talents and truths of an under-served group that is often overlooked and voiceless. We never imagined, all of this time later, that we would have our own channel to give these voices the platform they’ve earned and deserve.
IndieFlix has carefully curated a library of ‘content with a purpose’ with the belief from, Co-Founder, Scilla Andreen that “film is the most powerful medium to change lives and change the world” so it felt like a natural partnership for both parties. We have 30 films on the channel that can be streamed anytime, anywhere at: https://watch.indieflix.com/channels/details/kits-kids-in-the-spotlight
FWM: In November, you will host KITS Film Awards. Tell us about this prestigious event and how we can make an impact?
The annual KITS Film Awards, which have taken place at such venues as Regal L.A. Live, the Orpheum Theatre, and Paramount Pictures studio, honors the outstanding achievements of our youth and young adult filmmakers. Our version of the Academy Awards, the KITS Film Awards is part movie premiere, part awards show, to celebrate the accomplishments of our youth, who wrote, cast and starred in their own short films as the films are screened for the first time. Industry celebrities and influencers from film and television attend to support our emerging artists and to present awards for Best Film, Actor, Screenplay, Ensemble and Supporting Actor. Partners can make an impact through sponsoring the event as well as providing in-kind services and support, such as: hair, make-up, gowns, suits, limos, etc. to make sure our filmmakers hit the red carpet feeling their best for their big night in the spotlight!
KITS Twitter handle: https://twitter.com/kidsinspotlight | @kidsinspotlight
KITS Facebook page: https://facebook.com/kidsinthespotlight
KITS Instagram handle: https://instagram.com/kidsinthespotlight | @kidsinthespotlight
KITS TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@kidsinspotlight
KITS LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/kidsinthespotlight/
