KMK Media Group-Health Department Collaboration Now in Its 2nd Year & One of the First of its Kind in the Country
For the second year in a row, the Winnebago County Health Department has chosen KMK Media Group to lead its “Youth Leadership in Media” program and provide a six-week course for area students that will give them the knowledge and tools to prepare a violence-prevention media campaign, a unique collaboration that is one of the first of its kind in the country.
The partnership of KMK Media Group and the Health Department, together with the Violence Prevention Collaborative, will help to combat violence in our community by giving teens hands-on learning sessions with a professional media company that will teach them to use the media to speak directly to other teens about the negative aspects of violence.
KMK Media staff will lead students in exploring the media and how it influences decision-making for youth, specifically targeting the prevalence of violence in media. Beginning June 24, 2009, the students selected from various high schools will meet weekly, giving them a job-related experience and hands-on participation in creating a media campaign against youth violence.
The Violence Prevention Collaborative and 12 other organizations in the Rockford area are providing collaborative support for the project and together form the Rockford Not One Life to Lose Coalition, which was awarded the grant funds from the State of Illinois for this initiative. Further information can be found at www.rockfordsafetynetworks.org or by calling project director Geri Alten at 815-720-4261.
