Kenan Thompson is set to be honored with the Reel Works ChangeMaker Award at the 2025 Reel Works ChangeMakers Gala, The Hollywood Reporter has learned exclusively.

Reel Works, a nonprofit organization founded in 2001 by Stephanie Walter and John Williams, offers free filmmaking programs to underserved youth in New York City. The organization's mission is to mentor, inspire, and empower young people through documentary production and storytelling.

Reel Works has grown from serving 50 students annually to reaching 1,500 young people across New York City.

“Two New York television producers found joy in mentoring underserved young filmmakers, making cinema a little more diverse along the way.”

On May 24, 2023, the 2023 Reel Works ChangeMakers Gala celebrated emerging filmmakers and honored Actress Nia Long and NBCUniversal's Val Boreland as ChangeMakers in the industry. The Gala occurred at New York City’s historic Ziegfeld Theatre and was hosted by actress and comedian Ego Nwodim.

“GMA” has a huge surprise for deserving teacher Charles Reynoso, the director of education at Reel Works, which is a program that inspires young people to share their stories through filmmaking.

NBCU will grant $119,000 to the Alliance, a nonprofit focused on cultural impact in media arts, to train NBCU volunteers on how to mentor the Lab apprentices effectively and to share best practices with the apprentices’ nonprofit creative agencies on how to create powerful and impactful spots. These agencies include Reel Works, RE:IMAGINE, PhillyCAM, Spy Hop and Youth FX. The Alliance’s grant will also be used to support its own Arts2Work workforce development program and its Accelerator Fund to help women, young adults and veterans as well as low-income, BIPOC and disabled creatives in the field.