News Release

The Young Journalist Enrollment Grows 47%, Adding GYAC, Two Mentors and Receives a $25,000 Grant.

The Young Journalist (TYJ), a local after-school academic enrichment program begins its fifth year with a 47% increase in enrollment over last year from the same number of sites. 114 students have enrolled, which does not include 87 students mentored during three 2023 summer camps.

TYJ began in 2018 at Glendale Elementary with six students. The program is now offered at 11 Indian River County elementary schools and the Gifford Youth Achievement Center (GYAC).

TYJ is also announcing an unrestricted $ 25,000 grant from the Joy Street Foundation, Edison, New Jersey. Joy Street is focused on early childhood education and what we do.

The Young Journalist program is a free fun after-school reading and writing academic enrichment program mentoring third, fourth and fifth graders on how to become journalists.

GYAC is the newest site for the program, attracting 18 students. GYAC students include middle and high school students faced with writing school applications.

TYJ is also pleased to announce the addition of two new mentors.

Leah Cortez appreciates thoughtfully assembled facts, expressive fictional characters, and well executed formatting. She wants to teach children to recognize the characteristics of the different writing styles and appreciate the choices made by the writer (or speaker); believing they can provide young students a foundation for deeper level engagement with the material they will be observing, assembling, and presenting for all their days.

Bonnie Bramwell is a senior at Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, FL. She graduated from Indian River Charter High School and currently lives in Vero Beach. Bonnie is a columnist and the social media manager for The Crimson- Florida Tech’s student-run newspaper. She is also President of Lambda Pi Eta, Florida Tech’s National Communication Association’s official honor society.

The Young Journalist is an initiative of T. T. Hardy Online News Corp., D/B/A The Young Journalist, a 501 (C) 3 non-profit organization.