Pay It Forward Movement News

Greenbay, Wisconsin-- What if you could bring writers and other nationally recognized media professionals together with middle school students who wanted to write? What would happen? The students were from Bay View Middle School, the theme was Pay It Forward, and the writing program designer was Hope Sykes, a travel magazine writer.

"For me, the Pay It Forward projects were ideally suited for matching writing mentors with students as they studied and developed their ideas. I was also pleased to find out that such a program could be designed for little more than the cost of an Internet hook-up. Free Web space for a virtual classroom was readily available at the Yahoo Education Web site which enabled me to easily design and exchange lesson plans with the teachers. The class we then developed into solution-oriented journalism which was much more than learning how to write news or feature stories. I wanted the students to take their Pay It Forward ideas as far as their imaginations would allow and write so that others could see real problems matched with workable solutions--solutions that were really attainable. So many problems these days seem so far out of reach, but they actually aren't. A well-written article can often open that door," Sykes reflected.

Getting 80 students, 10 mentors, and three teachers together with the use of the Internet wasn't always easy for Hope, but that's where time zones and the Yahoo Educational site became even more important. "I could contact writer Stephanie Bernhagen while she was on the road performing a volunteer project with Habitat for Humanity at one end of the U.S. and download digital photos almost as it was happening so that the material would be easily ready for the class the next day. It was timely, too, since so many of the students expressed an interest in the organization and concern for those with a need for adequate housing. The Internet also enabled me to quickly reach others in the writing profession like Catherine Ryan Hyde just before she left on her book tour so that students could ask that burning question about how to deal with writer's block. Essentially, when an idea came up, we could quickly seek out answers. There was a lot of "you gotta go see this" and "quick, look at this great idea" during the class. With the Yahoo Education site, I could build file folders for class materials so that the teachers could access the material at any hour," Hope recounted.

There was also the continuing sense of renewal between the writers and students.
Editor Bev Wieber would review a story and another student would write a song. One student did a photo essay and another was eager to do an interview. Editor Janice Lasko would offer editing advice and some of the travel writers gave the class a sense of movement like Kay Peterson who has ridden an elephant through the jungles of Thailand or Jaimie Hall who works and writes out of her RV.

"What I wanted most was to give the students some of the best and varied slices of the writing life and the mentors did that in every way. We were able to take an inside look into the development of President and Mrs. Bush's "Thanks for Giving" public service announcement thanks to Susan Jacobson, Vice President of Communications at Ad Council. Everything was fresh, dynamic. So, when we posed a question of "What was so effective?", we were able to see how the campaign developed from idea to television script to film shoot right down to the final on-air and newspaper distribution. The next week we would learn about how to keep repeated media attention on a worthwhile cause with help and advice from Dogs for the Deaf, Inc. who has been captured by story and film spots with Reader's Digest and Animal Planet. When the students became concerned about the Rain Forest or the environment, I could quickly contact Lori Liddick of the National Wildlife Federation and explain about how her writings and efforts with the Backyard Wildlife Habitat program were both easily doable by schools and individuals and that you really can tackle serious problems without having to travel far and wide," Hope easily related.

Was the program a success? Author Jaimie Hall definitely thinks so. "I was very impressed with the quality of writing of the projects that I reviewed. As I read one student's piece, I felt like I was right there with him during the whole journey. Another's song was very moving. These kids were just amazing. My hopes are that this project has encouraged them to both write and continue to look at how they can make a difference in the world."

For Hope, designing the writing project has been the best part of her contribution to the Pay It Forward Movement and with good reason--she's just been told that the teachers would like to renew and build on the project again next year. "That's the greatest accomplishment that anyone could wish for, " she concluded "...to be able to Pay It Forward all over again."

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