Empowering Youth Through Media: Lycan Media’s Impact
With support from United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley’s Fund For Racial Justice and Equity (FRJE) grant, organizations like Lycan Media are making significant strides to support underrepresented youth.
Lycan Media is a multifaceted production company dedicated to helping organizations have a voice in the community and create meaningful stories. From video production and short films to virtual training and documentaries, Lycan Media showcases the remarkable accomplishments of individuals and organizations in the Lehigh Valley. Its mission is to keep youth engaged and informed about the resources in their area, and believes that investing in healthy habits during youth is an investment in the community’s future.
KP Boisseau started Lycan Media by making calisthenics videos showcasing how to keep your body healthy. That eventually grew into offering fitness apparel. As time passed and social media platforms continued to evolve, KP realized Lycan Media could push forward a new wave of inspiration and embrace culture through film production and photography.
“The resources we received from the United Way are very helpful because everything I thought I knew, I learned as I started going through the process [of starting a nonprofit organization],” said Lycan Media Founder and CEO Boisseau. “The funding helped in terms of who I could talk to, opening up conversations with the city and other community-based organizations.”
With the FRJE grant’s support, Lycan Media has launched the Lifting Young Communities Against Negativity (LYCANS) Initiative – a project that offers children programs focused on technology, agriculture, fitness, science, carpentry, health and community development.
The LYCANS Initiative is a nonprofit program that serves as a conduit for Lycan Media, forging strong connections between surrounding organizations to develop and maintain a cohesive tapestry of vital resources. The organization believes that by strengthening the foundation of children in the region, we ensure a brighter future for their adulthood. The initiative aims to connect and support adolescents and their families, guiding them toward the knowledge and understanding of the abundant elements available to support their achievements. It was designed to keep youth engaged and provide them with access to local resources that cater to the child’s individual needs and foster development.
Lycan Media believes developing self-care and healthy habits promotes mental stability and, most importantly, is a valuable skill that should be instilled at a young age and carried throughout life.
The LYCANS Initiative teaches mental health awareness by guiding teenagers toward healthy coping mechanisms, mainly through fitness and exercise. The overarching goal is to help youth realize that regardless of the circumstances within their community, they can still develop healthy habits for themselves and their future.
Lycan Media highlights what’s possible when communities UNITE to uplift and empower the next generation. Through initiatives like the FRJE grant, United Way and its partners are not just investing in organizations; they’re investing in the futures of countless young individuals, ensuring that no dream goes unrealized due to lack of opportunity.
United Way awarded the following local organizations with grants ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 through the FRJE:
- Cohesion Network
- Epoch Tribe
- Financial Literacy Center of the Lehigh Valley
- Fine Feather Foundation Inc.
- Global Hope International
- Greater Community Development Corp.
- InnaStar
- Juneteenth Lehigh Valley
- Lycan Media
- LatinosARE
- Lehigh Valley Black Church Housing Alliance
- Light on the Horizon
- Mother2Mother Inc.
- Movement Moves Media
- Resurrected Community Development Inc.
- SELF!
- The Rilyc
- The Rising Sun Initiative
- The Thrive Hub Inc.
- Unidos Inc.
- Vet Beds
Grant funding is made possible thanks to partners and donors who directed their support to the Fund for Racial Justice and Equity, including PPL Foundation, Crayola, Behr, Martin Guitar Charitable Foundation, Truist, Lehigh Valley Community Foundation and United Way Women United.
Learn more about United Way and the grant program by visiting our Fund for Racial Justice and Equity page.
