🌱 A Story from the Level Up Program: "I Belong Here"

When our young friend, a 7th grader, first joined our Level Up program, he barely spoke. As one of the only students of color in his school, he often kept to himself—shoulders hunched, eyes down, carrying the invisible weight of not feeling seen or understood. He wasn’t failing in school, but he wasn’t thriving either. He was getting by—and we knew he deserved more than that.

Then he walked into a Level Up session.

He was greeted by a room of leaders—Black, Brown, Pacific Islander, Indigenous mentors who looked like him, spoke like him, and led with love and purpose. The conversations weren’t just about academics. They were about identity, resilience, financial empowerment, and belonging. There was food. There was laughter. There was space to breathe and be.

Week after week, our young friend’s posture changed. He started showing up early, checking in with his mentors, and leading icebreakers. When we talked about building wealth and community, his hand was the first up with ideas. He started to believe in his own potential.

At our last community event, he told his mom:

“I want to be like them one day. I belong here.”

Why We Need Your Help

Our young friend is one of dozens of youth whose lives are being transformed by Level Up—a Weaving Fala initiative for middle and high school students to grow in confidence, leadership, and life skills. With your support, we can expand the program to serve even more youth, provide culturally-relevant resources, pay our incredible facilitators, and create lasting change.

This isn’t just a youth program. It’s a movement of belonging.
Will you help us keep the momentum going?

Donate now.
Help us Level Up a generation. 💛

Level Up

By Weaving Fala

Level Up

Creating Pathways for our Youth

Team Members