DRIVEN by his experiences, Antoine Lodge’s determination to uplift marginalised youth in Jamaica led him to launch Dream Big for Youth Foundation, combining faith and professional development in a unique approach to give youngsters a better chance to adapt to the corporate world.

Lodge, who is the founder and lead volunteer, described the initiative as deeply rooted in his personal journey of overcoming hardship and navigating the professional world.

“The Dream Big for Youth Foundation is geared towards the personal and professional development of our at-risk youth. It came about when I was a young boy, going through different circumstances and experiences… I’ve always said that I wanted to assist young people… to kind of help them through some of the challenges that I was faced with,” Lodge told the Jamaica Observer.

The foundation was officially launched on May 31 at Gospel Refuge Tabernacle United Pentecostal Church in Kingston through a worship experience called Sounds of Victory, aimed at stirring purpose among at-risk youth through spiritual and professional upliftment.

Lodge explained that while his early desire to help came from personal hardship, his entrance into the corporate world revealed another layer of struggle — one he realised many young Jamaicans are unprepared for.

“A lot of young persons enter into the space unprepared, and then when challenges come they don’t know what to do… their first solution is for them to run away. And I said that ‘Once I learn from my mistakes, I will ensure that I come out and help at-risk youth’… who people normally overlook or undermine,” he posited.

He said one of the foundation’s initiatives, set to be launched by early 2026, will be a Youth Empowerment and Employability Project.

According to Lodge, this initiative will target unattached youth who are out of school and unemployed. It will provide structured support aimed at reshaping their outlook and opportunities.

“A lot of the youth don’t necessarily feel as though they are relevant, or that they have any form of purpose, but once we get them to kind of build up their self-esteem, to change their outlook on life… we will give them outreach work — whether it is to paint a school, a church, a police station, feed the homeless, or talk to some young people,” he explained.

Lodge added that following that phase of the project, participants will be introduced to the professional world through partnerships with corporate Jamaica.

He told the Observer that the foundation is also planning a mentorship programme, following his recent visit to North Street Primary School during its observation of Boys’ Day.

“We intend to have a mentorship programme where we build a relationship with a school. We take a few students there and just kind of guide them to kind of change their perspective and, whatever goal that that individual has, we will work with them to take that on,” said Lodge.

Although faith forms the foundation for Lodge and his team of 10 Christian volunteers, he explained that the worship-themed launch was not about religious conversion, but rather about creating a welcoming space for reflection, healing, and purpose.

“We’re not coming to impose our religion on you or force you to say, ‘Hey, take on the name of Jesus’ or anything,” he clarified. “We just wanted people to come… especially young persons, to come and just worship in the presence of the Lord.”

He added that the launch was deliberately rooted in worship to reflect the divine guidance behind the initiative.

“While we are launching this initiative, it is basically the work of the Lord in the most subtle way possible and with some professional aspects to it. The intention was to start it on a foot where the Lord would really just lead us into the initiatives that we are looking to undertake.”

The foundation has already hosted activities like a vision board workshop in January. And there are plans to reach out to communities and use simple assessments, such as tests and risk screening, to help identify young people most in need of support.

“We go into the community, identify those who are unemployed, out of school, and then we administer an onboarding process…and automatically, once we know that they’re not in school or working… they have some form of high risk to them,” said Lodge.