Dear GOD,
I ask for your help not for me, but for my son and their sons and so on. I need your help so that they can have a future. I know that if I believe enough I can somehow make a difference. If I believe I can make the world around me a better place. Yours Truly, Princess U. Carr Participant, To Make The World A Better Place

The arts-and-literacy curriculum To Make The World A Better Place (TMTW), created by artist-educators Elana Gutmann and Daniele Robbiani, begins by asking "at-risk" young people two questions: "What would make the world a better place for you, your family, your community or the world at large?" and "What can you do to help make a difference?"

Since 1994, through the residency programs of more than a dozen New York City social service organizations and facilities, TMTW has reached more than 1,000 young people, ages 5-20. The majority of them come from low-income homes, group homes, and foster care. Some are homeless. But TMTW's approach to these "at risk" youth is not as victims of their circumstances but as positive agents of change who, given training, experience, and support, can reframe their circumstances in terms of new possibilities.

TMTW explores those possibilities with them through the Visual Journal Program and the Mentorship Program. The young people seek their answers to the program's two key questions through the Visual Journal's series of workshops for writing and editing, photography, observation walks, museum and gallery outings, group discussions, individual interviews, and in-class presentations. The Mentorship Program supplements the Visual Journal Program with four one-on-one sessions to give participants the opportunity for more dialogue and individual learning. Students present their finished work to peers, family, and community members in site-specific exhibitions.

TMTW's practices are effective in helping young people identify previously suppressed issues, such as abuse, homelessness, academic difficulty, and the need for health care, financial assistance, counseling, or legal defense. To respond to these needs, TMTW partners with service organizations. TMTW also offers students internships, scholarships, portfolio development, and referral services. For greater program sustainability, To Make The World A Better Place trains youth development professionals affiliated with partners. Because of this training, TMTW's "photo journaling" has become the cornerstone of other after-school programs.