PressFriends to Build Future Writers

At Pressfriends, our primary mission is to work with elementary school students in higher need areas to make writing fun by helping them develop their own local school newspaper.  

Each year, we provide free writing workshops to students at 9 different local Title I schools during the  Fall and Spring semesters.  We hold Kids News workshops at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium where students learn and write about the marine animals and at the University of Southern California where kids study about researches that are done by USC graduate students.

In the summer, Pressfriends' student volunteers participate in our extensive summer program schedule.  During the summer we have 60 volunteer opportunities.  We hold summer programs that including a writing exercise at the Boys & Girls Club of Port of LA, Wilmington Boys & Girls Club, San Pedro Boys & Girls Club, and Richstone Family Center.  These programs are designed and run by PressFriends high school student board members and include: TheatreFriends, ArtFriends, STEMFriends, SportsFriends, DanceFriends, MusicFriends, EcoFriends, BookFriends, MUNFriends, SewingFriends, EditFriends, and CraftFriends.

The biggest event, which is the purpose of this fundraising, is the Annual Conference where more than 200 elementary students from all 9 schools go on a field trip away from the schools.  The past field trips took places at the Huntington Library, Torrance Armstrong Theater MET2 Musical Show, and Fox Studio, to name a few.  Pressfriends provides transportation and venue costs, a one day mentoring, snacks and lunches, etc, for these students at the event.  With your donation, it will help PressFriends expand to serve more students in other Title I schools and allow us to provide more opportunities to more future writers.