JOIN THE MOVEMENT
For 30 years, YR Media (formerly Youth Radio) has been guided by a simple belief; supporting the centering of young voices can change the world. Over the last three decades, our vision to place power in the hands of young, BIPOC content creators, and to ensure their diverse voices lead the way in shaping the future of the world, has allowed us to grow from a small, rented storefront in Berkeley, to purchasing our own building in Oakland. And, we don’t plan to stop there. Within the coming years, YR Media will expand its reach through the planned opening of new locations in Chicago and the Southeast.
Time and again we have seen that when young people gain the skills and platforms to tell their stories, they produce vibrant work that disrupts the dominant media narrative and reflects the world they want to see.
Our donors and supporters have been with us every step of the way, and we would not be where we are today without every person who has contributed to YR throughout the years.
From large transformational gifts to $5 donations from former students, ongoing community support has allowed us to expand our impact beyond our wildest dreams.
Every year, we ask you to donate to YR’s mission. Today, we are offering a new way to support YR Media and become a deeper part of our community by becoming a Disruptor. Through a gift of only $10 a month, your status as a Disruptor will support a new generation of journalists, artists, and creatives who will question, disrupt, and rewrite the mainstream narrative.
As a Disruptor you’re pledging to support our push for more diverse voices in the media. For less than the cost of a streaming subscription, you will receive an exclusive T-shirt designed by YR Stars, an exclusive members-only newsletter, and access to special members-only events (both digitally and in person). More importantly though, you will show YR Stars that you believe in their future.
We stand with this generation as they fight for the better future they envision. Will you join us?
“YR has given me so many opportunities to connect with people who share my same passion, and to develop my skills to be able to achieve my goals in the future.” - Kimi Andre, Video Peer Teacher
WHY NOW?
Currently, most of YR's revenue comes from foundation and government grants. Our goal is to supplement institutional giving with more grassroots, community support that will allow us even more flexibility to direct it where YR's emerging content creators need it most.
As you likely know, YR Media is growing. We publish stories from a network of correspondents across the county. We opened a virtual hub in Chicago in 2020, with plans to open a physical media training center to parallel our offerings in Oakland over the next year. Beyond that, we have our eyes on the South, due to a need for more media makers all across the country and blossoming partnerships with innovative HBCUs in the region. Your support helps us reach these ambitious goals and bring YR programming to new groups of young people. YR Media has been a fixture in the Bay Area for decades, and we cannot wait to make inroads into these new communities, forge new partnerships, and reach new cohorts of YR Stars with their own stories to tell.
“Working in YR has been to me the foundation of passion, and the cornerstone for my development for the last four years of my life. With no knowledge of music going into the program, I’ve come out with a set of skills and a mindset for music creation” - Sam Macleay, Music Production Assistant
WHY YR?
YR Media was founded by visionary journalist Ellin O’Leary in response to the wave of violence in the Bay Area that led to the overcriminalization of young people, particularly young men of color. Working with an incredible team and then known as Youth Radio, YR Media launched with the vision to place power in the hands of young content creators, especially those from historically underrepresented groups, and to ensure their diverse voices lead the way in shaping the future of the world. Now, almost 30 years later, YR Media remains the premier media, technology and music training center and platform for emerging BIPOC content creators.
Having worked with more than 7,000 young people to date, YR Media uses a three-pronged approach: Media education; economic and emotional support; and employment programs to equip emerging content creators with an immersive media education, top industry mentors, paid career-track employment and holistic support services including counseling and healthy food. Young people leverage these offerings to become civically engaged citizens, who drive systematic change, and disrupt traditional media landscape.
Throughout the years, YR Stars have produced award-winning stories, from the Peabody award-winning Trafficked in 2010, to the Edward R. Murrow-award-winning 18-to-29 Now: Young America Speaks Up Covering the 2020 Election, to our first documentary, Unadopted, which screened at film festivals across the country.
By becoming a member today, you will help the next generation find their voices and lead the next award-winning investigation.
“YR Helped me understand what is means to be a young journalist and how to do it right” - Pratham Dalal, Newsroom Intern
BECOME A DISRUPTOR FOR GOOD
We hope that you can see how YOUR support will create opportunities for a remarkable group of young creators. We’re lucky to be on this journey with them as they fight for a new America, one not so fixated on stars and stripes but on equity and justice.
