MANCHESTER, NH – Building community happens when people come together and discover where their missions intersect. Such was the case when Dr. George Jumpp, president of Manchester Rotary Club happened to meet Michael Blair, a Central High School junior who serves as Editor-in-Chief of the school’s The Little Green newspaper.
As one of the most active extra-curricular activities at Central, The Little Green has been a force for student engagement and growth. At the newspaper, students develop real-world skills in journalism, graphic design, and business. No matter a student’s particular interest, The Little Green offers a welcoming place for all students who want to explore an interest in journalism or any of the related fields necessary to publish. Many editors have continued to pursue journalism in college, and later secured internships or employment with nationally recognized outlets such as The Boston Globe, NPR or CNN just to name a few. Other students have honed their interest in graphic design and gained organizational skills transferable to real world application.
In the past few years, however, significant problems have emerged with our technology, which is why I am writing to seek your help. Our old Apple computers aged and needed replacement. Our newspaper staff now has to use non–Apple computers which are not favorable for designing the newspaper. It is very difficult to transfer work from one computer to another, and in the process of trying to save our work, pages often get lost. The loss of even one page is detrimental because that page must be re–done, and the extra work inevitably delays the entire newspaper. Also, we are unable to work collaboratively or in real–time as we could previously with Apple computers. Of further concern, the computers we need are used by other classes at Central, which results in limited access for newspaper staff. Editors already have to spend so much time deploying workarounds to save work and share files, and limited access to the lab compounds those challenges. As the computers are used by others, our work also is not secure and even an inadvertent mistake by another user can lead to hours of work getting lost or damaged. Simply put, we lack the right technology to get the job done.
Student journalism is a proud tradition at Central and one that we hope will continue for years to come. At The Little Green we have a can–do attitude. We know, however, that with current Apple computers, The Little Green can do much more. With appropriate modern technology we will be able to efficiently complete the newspaper. This efficiency will allow students to focus on content, developing the stories and printing the news that matters to Central and our Manchester community.
Non-profit organizations interested in applying for a grant are encouraged to submit a grant request. For more information, contact manchesterrotary1918@gmail.com.