Partnership Helps At-Risk Youth Develop Creative Skills Through Video, Dance, Music and Art

The Black Eyed Peas' Peapod Foundation Band members from the GRAMMY-winning hip-hop group, The Black Eyed Peas — will.i.am, Fergie, apl.de.ap and Taboo — created The Peapod Foundation to encourage social change by uniting people, especially children, through the universal language of music. From the very beginning as an aspiring group from Los Angeles, The Black Eyed Peas have flaunted a passionate and energetic hip-hop spirit that attracts a diverse array of people to their music. They've earned fans worldwide with their inventive approach, inspiring people with loose rhymes, positive spirit and funkafied vibe. They took the international world by storm with the release of multi-platinum albums such as Monkey Business and Elephunk and now want to turn their success towards helping children realize their dreams through the power of music and the arts. 

The Adobe Foundation and The Black Eyed Peas Peapod Foundation unveiled two new state-of-the-art music and multi-media academies for youth in Oakland and Redwood City, Calif. last Fall.

The collaboration focuses on giving youth access to multi-media production tools for video, dance, music and art. Through the creation of digital media, teens are given the opportunity to comment on critical issues and inspire social change in their communities.

At a ribbon cutting ceremony on August 1, Grammy award-winning recording artists The Black Eyed Peas - will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo and Fergie - officially opened the first integrated Peapod Adobe Youth Voices Academy located in Redwood City at the Mervin G. Morris Clubhouse of the Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula. A second Academy will be housed in a new facility operated by Art In Action, a local non-profit youth leadership program in Oakland. Both academies offer services for youth up to age 19. An estimated 200 Bay Area youth participate in the academy programs annually.

"As a group, music has given us amazing opportunities. With the Peapod Foundation, we want to give back to inner-city kids so they can realize their potential through artistic and digital expression," says will.i.am, who grew up in the projects in Boyle Heights, Calif. "Together with the Adobe Foundation, we are giving more kids a chance at a better future."

The academies incorporate a high-tech curriculum developed by Adobe Youth Voices with the latest professional-grade multi-media production software - including Adobe® Creative Suite® 4 Master Collection Suite, donated by Adobe Systems Incorporated, and professional music studio tools for a state-of-the-art recording facility donated by the Peapod Foundation. In addition to mentoring in the performing arts, youth participants receive structured multi-media training in video, audio, photography, design and art, enabling them to creatively express their points of view on vital issues and contribute to social change in their communities.

"The Adobe Foundation and the Peapod Foundation share a vision for empowering youth to address social issues that directly affect them," said Michelle Mann, executive director of the Adobe Foundation. "The launch of these two academy sites is just the beginning of our journey. It's exciting to make such a direct, tangible impact by inspiring youth to demonstrate their potential and take action in their communities." 

The Adobe Foundation is a 501(c)(3) private foundation created and funded by Adobe Systems Incorporated to leverage human, technological and financial resources to drive social change and community improvements. The Foundation's Adobe Youth Voices global philanthropic program brings digital and multimedia tools and training to students and educators and empowers youth to comment on their world, share their ideas and demonstrate their potential to take action in their communities. The AYV global network currently includes more than 160 sites, grantees, and organizations in 31 countries engaging youth and educators in schools and out-of-school programs. The program encourages young people to use multimedia tools to communicate and share ideas, demonstrate their potential, and take action in their communities. For more information, visit www.adobe.com/go/youthvoices.