CULTIVATING DIVERSE CONTENT CREATORS
AND FOSTERING NEW PIPELINES IN THE
ENTERTAINMENT & FOOD INDUSTRIES
OUR MISSION.
Our mission is to train and empower underserved youth through a work-based learning program whereby students are taught to create content and marketing assistance for local businesses.
Our aim is to enhance students’ trajectories by engaging them in a structured process that will cultivate a myriad of technology and creative skills, as well as practical life & social skills.
Dinner Roll TV benefits young content creators by cultivating their skill sets, while at the same time making a positive impact on struggling local businesses that are integral to the communities that they live in.
OUR PROGRAM.
By learning the fundamentals of how to create nimble and engaging content, these students will equip themselves for a future in a media industry that badly needs their voices.
Given the dramatic cuts to arts programs in many underserved NYC high schools, initiatives like Dinner Roll TV are critical in the effort to overcome inequities and to empower and enable young students to realize their talents and potential.
In times of economic downturn when educational budgets are cut, arts & media programs are often the first to go. This is especially true in underserved communities where the institutional barriers to pursuing a career in the arts and entertainment are already extremely high.
In 2020, drastic cuts were made to after-school arts and media programs and in 2021, NYC’s education department art education programs were cut by nearly 30%.*
Currently, all creative and media programs at our partner high school, YCD, have been cut, leaving no way for these students to develop a skill set that is crucial to so many different industries in our digital era.
*Source:: NYC’s Public Art Education Budget Reduced to 70% of Previous Year
These kids are already social media wizards, masters of snapchat, TikTok and instagram and with their cell phones they can make the content needed to become social media marketers. We will meet them where they are and build and expand upon this knowledge to bring them to the next level.
Dinner Roll TV is about enabling curiosity and talent to begin to blossom.
On this journey, some students will be inspired to go deeper to learn more about photography, others will choose writing or editing, while others may find their calling in front of the camera.
The sky's the limit!
OUR PILOT PROGRAM: YCD HIGH SCHOOL.
Located in Brooklyn, NY on the historic Erasmus Hall Campus, serving grades 9-12 with an enrollment of 450 students.
Serves very diverse population with predominantly low socioeconomic students in the communities in and around Flatbush, Brooklyn.
77% come from low income families, 24% of students have a disability.
75% identify as African American, 16% Latinx, 3% white, 4% Asian, 2% other.
The High School for Youth and Community Development Ethos:
YCD believes that it is our responsibility as educators to provide all students with equitable support, and access to post secondary plans; higher education and career development, regardless of a student’s race, ethnicity, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, economic class and citizenship status.
“SMILING FACES AT ISLAND EXPRESS”
by Simon Salmon
“FATTY FAT REVIEWS”
by Jaila Sims
Featured Work
“COOKING WITH JACOB”
by Faith Davenport
“THE BATTLE OF ISLAND EXPRESS”
by Adam Magwood
“HEY BIG SPENDER”
by Adam Magwood
"Review of Zed Restaurant"
by NoDir & Jaila
“THE STORY OF ISLAND EXPRESS”
Collab Vid by Jenny Lo, Adam M. and Mr. Josh
“FIELD TRIP TO iX RESTAURANT”
by Ermelie Gilles
"FOODIE DIARY VIDS"
Compilation Vid of First Projects
“FIELD TRIP TO ISLAND EXPRESS”
Video by Jada White
“DUNYA MUSIC THEATRE”
by Adam Magwood
“THE BEAT OF HUNGER”
Collab by Jada White, Jonathan Pascal and Mr. Josh
Meet the Team
-
Josh Victor Rothstein
Filmmaker & Educator
-
Camille Boyd
Food Club Teacher
-
Ted Hamilton
Work-Based Learning Coordinator
-
Jon Sinovoi
Advisor & Guidance Counselor
-
JP Pullos
Education Advisor
-
Blake Swerdloff
Creative Consultant
-
Brandon Solis
Content Strategy Consultant
-
Nicole Lucey
Creative Advertising Consultant
-
Dan Lucey
Creative Consultant
-
Joi Ashanti Watkins
Research & Teacher Assistant
-
Jesse Bonnell
Designer
OUR ORIGIN STORY.
Dinner Roll TV is a educational series developed by The Dinner Roll Campaign.
Formed during the early stages of the pandemic, The Dinner Roll Campaign is a community of artists, chefs, restaurateurs and everyday New Yorkers who are united in the effort to support independent restaurants and to help combat the rising tide of food insecurity brought on by the pandemic.
Through existing relationships and connections at the Dinner Roll Campaign, we will aim to tap into established voices in the food and entertainment industry to help bring attention and amplification to the content being created by the students for this initiative.