Little Green newspaper awarded $5K toward new computers thanks to Manchester Rotary Club

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From left, Walter Milne, Manchester Rotary Secretary, Scott MacDonald, Little Green Advisor, Dr. George Jumpp, Manchester Rotary Club President, Grace Stankiewicz, Meghan Wade, Lydie Mann, Akshay Manchanda, Nancy Apollo, Emily Leclerc, Catherine Tenn, Rylee Berteau, Colleen Stankiewicz, Declan Ryan, Michael Blair, Little Green Editor-in-Chief, and Joel Gianninoto, Manchester Rotary Club. Photo/Stacy Harrison

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.

“I met Michael at a Safe Sports event at a Fisher Cats game. He talked about his passion for sports and writing the student newspaper. During our conversation, he mentioned he and his team wanted to print better-quality newspapers for his school. I explained to him the Manchester Rotary Club could help him and his team,” Jumpp said.
Manchester Rotary’s mission is focused on community service and support of organizations that help kids, which they are able to do through their annual Cruisin’ Downtown car show fundraiser. Michael submitted an application to Manchester Rotary seeking funding for new Apple iMac computers, needed to design and produce a high-quality newspaper.
Wrote Michael in his application:
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 nonApple 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 redone, and the extra work inevitably delays the entire newspaper. Also, we are unable to work collaboratively or in realtime 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 cando 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

The Little Green was one of five recipients of the first round of grants from Manchester Rotary. Other non-profit organizations receiving funding so far include: SEE Science Center, Game Plan Sports, Breakthrough Manchester and Neighborworks Southern New Hampshire.

Non-profit organizations interested in applying for a grant are encouraged to submit a grant request. For more information, contact manchesterrotary1918@gmail.com.


About this Author

Carol Robidoux

PublisherManchester Ink Link

Longtime NH journalist and publisher of ManchesterInkLink.com. Loves R&B, German beer, and the Queen City!