Empower Youth Radio Programs https://grants.dudleytdoughertyfoundation.org/proposals-2016/empower-youth-radio-programs https://grants.dudleytdoughertyfoundation.org/@@site-logo/sitelogo-75x75.png

Empower Youth Radio Programs

Additional Information
Used for	We request support for three locally produced youth-led radio programs. Our elementary age, middle school, and high school age programs are entirely produced and hosted by area youth, and streamed around the globe via Internet. Funding would support oversight, production, recording, editing, engineering, streaming, insurance, and music fees.
Benefits	Our youth radio programs not only inspire and train youth in skills such as leadership, teamwork and broadcasting, but they also share an often-ignored perspective with the community and with online listeners around the country. Through these programs, we help build a more understanding and just world, engage diverse people in civil dialogue, and nurture the next leaders of our community.
Proposal Description	The award-winning Dragonflies On Thin Air is the only locally produced radio program in the Pacific Northwest entirely produced and hosted by elementary age children. The kids interview people, tell stories, read poems, cover science topics and much more. Thin Air Community Radio has a partnership with West Valley City School in Spokane Valley, WA to produce the only local middle-school program. For school credit, the kids cover topics of interest to their peers, play music, and do movie/book reviews. Raise Your Voice is the only local high school age radio program in the region. The youth discuss hard topics such as teen pregnancy, suicide, the drop-out rate, environmental justice, and more. During the grant period, the youth will produce approximately 150 hour-long radio programs, supervised by our two program directors. Associated costs include program coordination and oversight, engineering costs, computer and equipment repair, broadcaster’s insurance, license fees, streaming and archiving, marketing, and studio/tower occupancy expenses. Weekly broadcasts require on-air equipment and production-room recording and editing equipment, website program page maintenance, and FCC reporting. Our radio signal reaches approximately 400,000 in parts of six surrounding counties, and more via live stream on the Internet. We have listeners and members of all age, race and gender from around the country. Thin Air Community Radio's mission is to fill needs that other media do not, providing programming to diverse communities and unserved or under-served groups. We provide a forum for neglected perspectives and discussions on important local, national and global issues, reflecting values of social, economic and environmental justice, peace, human rights, democracy, multiculturalism, freedom of expression and social change. As an alternative to commercial media, Thin Air Radio seeks to empower youth, women, ethnic minorities and other marginalized groups to share their stories via the public airwaves and work for a more just and sustainable planet.