Indian River County, FL.  The Young Journalist organization, an initiative of a GuideStar Platinum 501 ( C ) (3), mentors fourth and fifth graders on how to become journalists.  From one elementary school with six students in 2018, in 2021 the Program has expanded to over 50 students in eight elementary schools.

Since its inception in 2018, the Program has mentored over 150 students, at the School District of Indian River County elementary schools, the Youth Guidance Mentoring Academy, and The Laura (Riding) Jackson Foundation.

The Young Journalist Program helps grow writers, and through their writing, helps grow readers. It uses reading to support writing and writing to support reading. Reading, be it through research or absorbing other journalists’ writings, and each other’s writing, supports further writing.

Without curiosity, there would be no journalism.  In addition to reading out loud from a developed 90-page curricula, the Young Journalists write articles about what they are curious about, which are published in 150 copies of a high-quality magazine, for themselves, their parents, school administrators, and even the Vero Beach Book Store.

In addition to reading from their curricula textbook, they are also reading excerpts from the book Elements of Style.  The original book was composed by William Strunk Jr. in 1918, comprising eight “elementary rules of usage”, ten “elementary principles of composition”, “a few matters of form”, a list of 49 “words and expressions commonly misused”, and a list of 57 “words often misspelled”. E. B. White greatly enlarged and revised the book for publication by Macmillan in 1959. That was the first edition of the so-called Strunk & White, which Time named in 2011 as one of the 100 best and most influential books written in English since 1923.