The winner of our Storytellers for Good Boston Launch event, What's Good in the Hood (www.whatsgoodinthehood.tumblr.com), is a youth movement that aims to give the city of Lawrence, Massachusetts an image makeover. This passionate group of teens is empowering each other and their community with stories to inspire change and city pride. Their newspaper, filled with reports on people making a difference, is distributed throughout the city and online.
Our film will profile these inspired young journalists as they capture stories of local change makers and combat Lawrence's otherwise tarnished reputation in the media. Some of these leaders are heading up environmental clean ups and after school programs, others are building skate parks, initiating art and fashion fundraisers and opening innovative new businesses to give their home city a boost.
Here is your opportunity to make a donation and put YOUR name on a story that will help raise funds for this amazing cause. With a donation of $50 or more you will be listed as a “Supporter” in the film credits. With a $100 or more donation your name will appear as a “Producer.” With either investment you will be enlisted in our positive storytelling movement that aims to create positive change in the world one story at a time.
Storytellers for Good hopes to raise funds by early October. We will then create the film and hand the invaluable fundraising tool over to What's Good in the Hood, to share at events, on their website, YouTube and countless other social media channels online.
Cara Jones is a multiple Emmy Award winning writer, reporter, and producer with vast experience in using video to tell compelling, inspiring human-interest stories. She has more than a decade of experience in broadcast journalism and has reported for network affiliates in Southwest Florida, Boston and the San Francisco Bay Area. Having been frustrated by the tragedy focused and negative nature of local news, Cara seeks to use her skills to tell personal stories that move and inspire. She founded Storytellers for Good in 2009 and has since worked with non-profits all over the US as well as in Africa and Cambodia. Cara is also a yoga teacher, life coach and part-time instructor in the Academy of Art University’s Multimedia Communications Department.
Scott Ripley has been a videogrpaher/producer /director for the University of New Hampshire since November of 2007. A native of Rochester NY, he made the transition to the University after nine years of working in the news side of television. He spent five years at WHEC in Rochester and the last four years at WFXT in Boston. He won a 2003 AP Award and several National Press Photographer’s Association awards at WHEC. At WFXT, he was runner up for NPPA regional photographer of the year twice, was nominated for several Emmy’s and won 2 Emmy’s in 2006. He has a Bachelors Degree from SUNY Oswego in beautiful Upstate New York.
Storytellers for Good (www.storytellersforgood.com) will create a 3-5 minute film to be used as a fundraising tool for What's Good in the Hood. We will also take still photos and write stories for both Spot.us and our blog.
