I had the opportunity to meet with the creators of Art Start and Hip Hop Project, which is a program of the New York-based Art Start nonprofit during the Washington, DC premiere at E Street Theatre. Present in the audience were next generation leaders in the creative and social media space. We had our eyes and hearts glued to the screen feeling the stories of each youth.

 What the Hip Hop Project has done for youth is what we need our country...youth-led programs that engage the essence of the creative inner spirit to speak up on the issues that face their communities. By telling their story in a creative way and most importantly in their own way, the individual change becomes just as important as the social change. With most social marketing and advocacy campaigns, the personal narrative becomes a key ingredient for people to relate and understand the issue. Thus awareness meets action resulting to a cumulative change in society. It's a big goal and hope with little metrics. Just a combination of antecdotal data, great stories and tracking through government-sponsored studies for a glimpse of longitudinal impact.

Knowing what the power of arts and humanities from a cultural standpoint can mean...I looked within my creative soul which gave rise to Postcards from Katrina and ultimately a social enterprise, Creative Cause. Both speak to the where we in society a burst of creativity and a need to bring awareness and action on a creative level. One key way is leveraging the creative and social capital among youth.

 So go see the Hip Hop project...the director of Art Start noted that all proceeds supports youth arts community programs.