How can we lift our community? We have stories to tell — but need your help
Next year, we are launching a team of reporters that will help bring focus and provide solutions to equity and inequalities in Stanislaus County.
Our Economic Mobility Lab will consist of reporters to cover our Latino and underserved neighborhoods, economic development and education – with an acute focus on how residents in all areas of Modesto and Stanislaus County can overcome systemic roadblocks like neighborhood infrastructure, access to government and political strength to help improve their lives.
There are many sides of Modesto: Residents living west of Highway 99 and those living east. Residents living with sidewalks and street lights, and those going without. Residents with easy access to food, education, healthcare and transportation and those without. Residents who feel they are engaged by city and county leaders and those who do not.
Our team of three reporters will seek to examine the reasons why the divide is growing, ask the tough questions and help find solutions to inequalities that have long been present but ignored.
»» Contribute to The Modesto Bee’s Economic Mobility Fund
Months ago, I asked for help as our business struggled with bankruptcy. Advertising dollars evaporated as local businesses, including our own, were crushed by the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
You came through, with more than $31,000, which helped us avoid layoffs, furloughs and pay cuts at a time when many local news organizations could not. It helped us report extensively on the coronavirus, the protests, our recent local elections and everyday life in and around Stanislaus County. For that, and your continued support through subscriptions, we are deeply grateful.
To help fund our new reporters, and continue our dedication to local journalism, we are asking for your help again, with a goal of $25,000, at givebutter.com/TheModestoBee
Already, two reporters on our staff — ChrisAnna Mink and Kristina Karisch — are funded through grants thanks not only to you, but to the Stanislaus Community Foundation, the Stanislaus County Office of Education and the Report for America program.
Mink, a pediatric infectious disease specialist, has written extensively on children’s issues, food insecurity and has offered deep reporting on the coronavirus since mid-January, before it caught the attention of the public. Karisch, a recent Northwestern University graduate, reports on economic development and, among other stories, teamed with Marijke Rowland to detail what businesses received federal Paycheck Protection Program funding and how it’s being used.
But there is so much more to shine a light on in a county where economic and education levels lag behind the rest of the state.
How The Bee leans in will be critical. With reporters focused on the Three E’s – economic development, equity and education – we can find solutions in areas that need improvement while championing successes that can eventually help lift the community to meet the challenges of the next decade.
To keep moving forward, to provide essential local journalism that makes a difference, we need your support and readership. While we learn from you daily, we’re asking again to lean on you, with the promise of helping to make our community stronger.
To make a tax deductible contribution, go to givebutter.com/TheModestoBee
To contribute by check, make the check payable to Local Media Foundation and in the notes field on the check, write the publication (The Modesto Bee) you are donating to. In addition, include your email address to receive a tax donation letter. The check then needs to be mailed to: Local Media Foundation, PO Box 85015, Chicago, IL 60689-5015.
This story was originally published November 9, 2020 at 11:48 AM.
