Introducing Sharon Dever, our third Community Correspondent. Originally from Delaware, Sharon moved to Michigan 12 years ago and has lived in the Vine Neighborhood for three years.  She is the third to publish from the Fall 2020 class of ON THE GROUND's Community Correspondent's Program. A grant-funded program that compensates participants for attending training workshops and pays to publish their stories, its purpose is to teach journalism basics to residents who are interested in lifting community voices and telling the stories of their neighbors and businesses and organizations that are addressing quality of life issues. We asked here these questions about her experience:

Why did you apply to the Community Correspondents program? 

I felt it would be a good fit with my interest in the community. I enjoy attending community events and participating in projects where I can. I already like to be involved, and I think it's great that we have an opportunity to share what's going on in a hyper-local way.

What impact do you hope to make?

I hope to help inform people about activities that have been going on in the area that they may not have found out about otherwise.

What topics do you hope to highlight in your writing?

I am interested in everything environmental, but I am also interested in community events and social justice issues. I hope I can find stories that show the work being put in to make our community better.

Any thoughts you'd like to share about the Community Correspondent program? What can you say to encourage others to consider participating in the Community Correspondent program?

I would say it is a great opportunity for people interested in learning about how to write a good story. I liked that it was spread out over four weeks, giving us time to take things in and review them deeper.