Jersey City, N.J. – August 15, 2023 – Saint Peter’s is proud to announce that it was awarded a $100,000 grant from the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium (NJCIC) to support a growing partnership with Slice of Culture (SoC). SoC is a news media website run by a group of young BIPOC storytellers, operating with the support of the University’s Department of Communication and Media Culture. The goal of the outlet is to bring civic engagement to Jersey City and Hudson County through a series of how-to projects and informational stories targeted to immigrant families and communities of color. The partnership is also helping to fill a news and information gap in Hudson County following the closing of two local newspapers.
Two Saint Peter’s alumni, Adrienne Romero ’20 and Neidy Guiterrez ’20, founded SoC. The goal of the project is to shed light on the diverse community in Hudson County, share experiences of those behind the scenes and discuss real issues at home. With the support of an initial grant of $40,000 from NJCIC in 2022, SoC produced 11 multimedia stories focused on civic engagement. The team currently consists of four storytellers, a graphic artist and a small community of volunteer staff writers, videographers and artists. The group has also offered community journalism-training workshops at Saint Peter’s University and the Bayonne Public Library.
The latest $100,000 grant from NJCIC will enable SoC to expand its efforts and partnership with the University. Increased storytelling, content development and even translation of content into Spanish and possibly other popularly spoken languages in Hudson County will now be possible.A select number of internships will also be made available for college students in the area, with Ernabel Demillo, chair and lecturer of communication and media culture at Saint Peter’s University, and Georgia Kral, instructor of communication and media culture, to serve as internship mentors. SoC also plans to expand their training workshops and offer media literacy workshops at local libraries.
“We are so proud to see that graduates from our department were able to harness the power of journalism and the skills honed during their studies to make a difference in our local University community,” said Demillo. “We are honored to be a part of the exciting efforts of Slice of Culture and we look forward to what this group of young journalists will accomplish.”
For 2023, NJCIC awarded 17 new grants and 18 renewal grants for projects that improve the quantity and quality of civic information in New Jersey communities and better meet the information needs of low-income communities and ethnic communities that have been underserved by the media.
“We are thrilled to support these innovative projects that will help strengthen local journalism in New Jersey,” said NJCIC Board Chair Christopher J. Daggett. “The grantees are tackling important issues in creative ways, and we look forward to seeing the results of their work.”
# # end # #
For more than 150 years, Saint Peter’s University, inspired by its Jesuit, Catholic identity, commitment to individual attention and grounding in the liberal arts, educates a diverse community of learners in undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and professional programs to excel intellectually, lead ethically, serve compassionately and promote justice in our ever-changing urban and global environment. To learn more, please visit www.saintpeters.edu.
Media Contact
Angeline Boyer
aboyer1@saintpeters.edu
(201) 761-6238