Dultmeier Photography believes wholeheartedly in the mission of Project Lift.

 Transforming lives by addressing substance use, mental health, mentoring, and vocational skills for at-risk teens and families.

If you live on the Treasure Coast, there's a good chance you have heard about Project Lift, an organization started in Palm City by psychologist Bob Zaccheo with the goal of reaching at-risk teens and young adults. Project Lift is an amazing organization that currently has campuses in Palm City, Fort Pierce and Belle Glade. The mission of Project Lift is near and dear to Diane’s heart. Much of the organization’s mission is to empower young people, especially those that don’t fit into traditional school or who might have slipped through the cracks due to substance abuse or other mistakes made as a teen or young adult. 

One of Diane’s sons is a graduate of the Pathway Academy of Innovation, the self-paced program at Project Lift that leads to a high school diploma. Originally funded by Impact100 Martin in 2018, the Pathway Academy of Innovation is for teens who don’t excel in traditional school, helping them earn a high school diploma, and thus changing their trajectory in life and putting them on the path toward more education and success than they could have had without a high school diploma.

Though much of society seems to value a college education above all other kinds, we are coming to recognize that we have a shortage of people skilled in the trades, and also that a career in the trades is a wonderful fit for many people. Project Lift is filling an important role in our community, with its origins in Palm City and has now opened campuses in Fort Pierce and Belle Glade.

Diane donates her time and resources to Project Lift in multiple ways, including supporting their fundraisers throughout the year and photographing the graduates of the Pathway Academy, providing the graduates and their families with quality graduation portraits that they otherwise would not have. Dultmeier Photography is a member of the  Business and Trades Society, a group of community businesses and organizations that contribute regularly to Project Lift.

Founder Bob Zaccheo refers to Project Lift as life-changing “therapy under the hood of a car.”

In the image above, you can see recent graduates of one of Project Lift's programs, where the students earn an accredited high school diploma. Without Project Lift, these kids likely would not have graduated from high school! (FYI, their high school program was started with a 2018 grant from Impact100 Martin, another wonderful local organization Diane is involved with.)

“If you ever want to see a truly emotional graduation, attend one of these high school graduation ceremonies,” Diane said. “Guaranteed tears. My son graduated from this program two years ago and of course there were tears of joy. But I've had tears each time I've attended a one of these ceremonies because the kids and families truly appreciate what the program has done for them.”

To listen to a great podcast where founder Bob Zaccheo tells how he came up with the idea for "therapy under the hood of a car," go to the Army of Normal Folks podcast by clicking here.

There are many other ways to support the organization. For example, if you have a business, consider joining the Business and Trades Society. (Diane is a member.)

Or, Project Lift is actively looking for male mentors! You (or your husband/friend) would be very much appreciated. The people at Project Lift are wonderful to work with. Go to this link.​

To learn more about Project Lift in general, go here.

Can you tell we are enthusiastic about this organization? Their mission gets Diane’s full support both with ongoing donations of photography for the high school graduates and contributions to many of their fundraising events.