Aperture of Hope, an organization operated by Cath Adams, focuses on community building and exploration for teenagers. Through the Glenwood Community Center, Adams runs teen-centered events and workshops intended to build hope for young people who may be struggling or just trying to figure life out.
The organization, an offshoot of Adams and her husband’s photography business, honors her late daughter, Emily Irene, who tragically passed away due to fentanyl poisoning in 2020. Every program offered through Aperture of Hope is a means to keep kids engaged, to make them feel important and to prevent such needless loss.
Adams works closely with the Roaring Fork School District, educating high school students about the fentanyl crisis and offering a plethora of opportunities.
Starting from humble beginnings, Adams’ first program, “If You Give a Kid a Camera,” was inspired by her own childhood, when she started looking at the outside world with intention for the first time.
“The whole world was just so big, and there was so much to explore,” she told The Sopris Stars.
She aimed to share the joys of her childhood by rekindling participants’ connections with nature, while also highlighting the damaging effects of the digital age. Adams noticed a downward spiral when it came to teenagers and healthy coping skills, many often turning to substances or spending all their spare time online.
Her workshops serve to help kids stoke their passions. “I ask teens: What do you want to do? And how can we make that happen?” she explained.
She’s helped kids pull off events such as GlenwoodStock, an annual concert at the Glenwood Community Center with a strictly teen lineup, and the regular Teen Jam sessions.
“Teen Jam helped me connect with my peers musically,” said Iggy Richardson, a local teen and junior at Roaring Fork High School. “I think it is a fantastic outlet for musicians to connect, especially in such a small valley.”
This is reflective of Aperture of Hope’s overall goals to help inspire youth to create and take a step back from the digital world. “It’s creating possibilities,” Adams said.
Adams tends to let young people inspire the direction of the programming. “I have allowed it to naturally unfold itself,” she shared. She keeps an open mind and focuses on helping as many young people as possible while also holding their interest.
Currently, Adams is working on multiple projects. She is particularly excited about “Digital Detox,” which requires youth to put their phone down and find a creative outlet. That group comes together weekly to take photos and “reclaim” their brain.The act of photography forces the brain into active observation, which can help to rebuild the structures eroded by our digital age, according to Adams.
Aperture of Hope builds community and guides participants through the tunnel of adolescence to a brighter day.
“It’s basically a place of unity,” concluded Adams.
For more information, visit
www.greggandcathphotographers.com/community/aperture-of-hope