Photo Courtesy of SirQuinton Gladney
SirQuinton Gladney
Running Rebels is a nonprofit community organization dedicated to guiding Milwaukee youth into adulthood through mentoring, positive programming, and community connection. I sat down with SirQuinton Gladney at Running Rebels EAST, located at 225 W. Capitol Drive, to learn more about their multimedia program which he coordinates.
The Multimedia Program offers diverse skill building workshops for Milwaukee youth ranging from videography, photography, podcast production to switch board engineering. This program is available Wednesdays and Fridays from 4-7 p.m. Gladney delightfully expressed that “the youth want to be here after school,” and they are often curious about learning how to create TikTok videos.
“It’s a fun atmosphere that includes structure and discipline. We also offer tutoring and keep track of their grades because education is important to us too,” Gladney said.
As a mentor and multimedia coordinator, Gladney stated that he has experienced a lot of growth since joining Running Rebels EAST. He expressed that Running Rebels has entrusted him with creative control and he has been able to request state-of-the-art equipment for the program, “it’s a blessing because I often prayed to make multimedia a job.” Gladney went on to say that he has been tasked with capturing content for Running Rebels EAST in addition to teaching new multimedia technologies to the youth. Currently, he is working on their Self Love campaign that encourages Milwaukee youth to love themselves. Gladney is dedicated to empowering youth, fostering creativity, and contributing to community building efforts.
I asked him, “why is the multimedia workshop relevant to today’s young generation?” Gladney stated, “It's up to us to pass the torch to today’s young generation who need to know multimedia skills to change the narrative within Milwaukee.” Gladney adds, “mentorship is important to me because we give the youth direction and confidence to follow their dreams.”
The kids grow more confident in themselves after completing the programs and seeing their finished work, Gladney says. Each month Running Rebels hosts a Unity Expo to celebrate and showcase creations from the youth involved in their programs. The Unity Expo is also a great opportunity for local vendors to participate in the event as well.
“Multimedia opens doors for youth,” states Gladney who also admits that it has opened doors for him as well adding, “there’s always an opportunity to provide services.”
As for the future, Gladney says that his podcast Best of the Best TV season two will air on Roku through the ANR app and he is producing more music. Gladney is also mentoring the youth in another Running Rebels program called Leaders of Tomorrow that empowers Milwaukee youth to prepare for leadership roles by fostering qualities such as accountability, confidence, and effective communication through community engagement, entrepreneurial training and creative media. As part of the LOT programming, Gladney is helping to develop a podcast as well.
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Running Rebels encourages other businesses to connect with them and cultivate partnerships around Milwaukee and beyond. Interested in learning more about the Running Rebels? Visit https://runningrebels.org/ for more information.
