National Volunteer Week – Thank you to our volunteers! from GroundTruth on Vimeo.
It’s National Volunteer Week! To celebrate, we’re highlighting the impact of individuals that give their time through Report for America to support young journalists and the communities they report in.
“Having someone to bounce ideas off of, or to ask advice from outside of my company but in the industry, has helped me adjust to my new role and new city so much!” – current Report for America corps member
Through our mentorship program, we match highly experienced mentors to corps members who opt in. Our corps members benefit from the wisdom and guidance of experienced journalists they are matched with based on beat and/or locale. Currently, there are around 130 corps members receiving mentorship from experienced journalism professionals that provide support, guidance and advice. Over the entirety of our mentorship program, approximately 300 mentors have mentored more than 300 corps members through the years.
If you’re an experienced journalism professional, we could use your support! You can learn more about the program and fill out a form to get involved here.
Report for America corps members across the country are also community volunteers. They lead community service projects— generally, student journalism or youth media projects— that are helping shape the next generation of journalists. The primary goal of these service projects is to support the media literacy of young people across the U.S. by helping them produce stories about the world around them. Since June 2023, corps members have worked with more than 2,800 students. In the last six years, corps members have spent over 37,000 hours on projects serving nearly 13,000 students!
“Having someone that writes articles for a living, knows how to interview people, was helpful. I’m currently in the college process and I’ve picked my major in journalism. I plan on pursuing [journalism] in the future, so this is not something I’m just doing for fun. I want to get serious about it.” – Ramata Diop (student)
Recently, we held our first ever Student Journalism Awards recognizing the work of young student journalists across the country. Entries came from youth being mentored by Report for America corps members. Check out more information and a full list of winners here.
About Report for America
Report for America is a national service program that places talented emerging journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered topics and communities across the United States and its territories. By creating a new, sustainable model for journalism, Report for America provides people with the information they need to improve their communities, hold powerful institutions accountable, and restore trust in the media. Report for America is an initiative of The GroundTruth Project, an award-winning nonprofit journalism organization dedicated to rebuilding journalism from the ground up.