October 2013
Word on the Street won award for Best Community Involvement project at the 2013 National Student Electronic Media Convention!
Issue 1 of Volume 2 is out!
April 2013
Homeless Youth
We did it! We not only finished our first year of printing, but we’re moving to a 5x yearly schedule instead of 4x! With 20,000 papers printed in our first year, we see demand for the paper at 5x a year is strong and awareness is growing. Our reporters are contacted by people with stories now, instead of having to seek them out. The name Word on the Street resonates with people in downtown Baltimore (and even at City Hall) in a way we never imagined it could so soon. What an amazing first year!
Word on the Street has a HOME!
March 2013
Thanks to the Real News purchase and renovation of 235 Holliday Street, Word on the Street has now got office space! A mere block from City Hall, we expect that WOTS will be heard a lot louder now. We are in temporary space in the building during renovations (note the lovely plastic sheet walls) but we are in!
Following our hoisting of the banner, we received a large donation of used furniture from Loyola University, which has allowed us to set up an office area and a computer work area. Soon to arrive – a computer donation from Loyola as well! Once we are finished setting it all up and networking it, we will be running all operations from 235 Holliday Street. Thanks to a grant from the Maryland Presbetary, we will also begin hosting computer literacy training classes for the homeless. Donations from Microsoft and Adobe will allow us to train our guests in the latest office and design software, giving them a great leg up on their job searches.
Issue 4 is out
January 2013
The Journey Home
BONUS: Look for the storyby WLOY’s former GM Amanda Nolan ’12, about our national awards!
Issue 3 is out
October 2012
Waiting for Change
Issue 2 is out
July 2012
Baltimore (In)Justice is the main theme and cover story
Word on the Street BBQ Feeds 400!
June 2012
With the summer weather coming on strong, Word on the Street launched a new spin on the traditional backyard BBQ party. Instead of holding it in private, we teamed up with St. Vincent de Paul church and held it in their yard. Oh, and instead of inviting a few friends over, we invited the homeless of Baltimore. The volunteers of Word on the Street managed multiple grills and tables, a ton of donated food, and pot luck sides, from setup around 10am, until we got the grills producing about noon, we lined up folks and all enjoyed a beautiful day in the park. As a bonus, we also managed to feed OVER 400 homeless in 2 hours. What an amazing day for WLOY staffers, Word on the Street volunteers and so many hungry people. Wait until next year when we try to beat that record!
Word on the Street has launched!
March 2012
After many months of work, the first issue of Word on the Street is now for sale from vendors around Baltimore. The $1 cover price puts $0.75 directly into the hands of the vendors – all of whom have direct personal experience with homelessness and many of whom are writing for the paper. WLOY is proud to have been a part of the launch and to have provided funding for the entire first year’s printing costs. We had a great fundraiser on April 27 at the Cork Gallery which raised over $2500 MORE for the paper! It’s amazing to see the paper in print and even more amazing to say that there are more than 3000 copies sold already! Watch for a vendor near you. Bill can be found at the corner of York and Northern Parkway if you are coming from Loyola, and there are more around town.
Read the new homeless newspaper financed by WLOY!
Some of the media coverage of Word on the Street
Coverage in the Examiner (2/16/12)
Pre-release story in the Baltimore Sun (2/28/12)
Interview on Maryland Morning on WYPR (4/18/12)
Cover story in DC’s Street Sense paper (11/14/12)
Story in Loyola Magazine (11/28/12)