Village Media

July was a milestone month for Village! 🎊 With support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, we announced plans to bring our community-first journalism model to 15 communities across the United States, starting with our first launch in Appleton, Wisconsin in September. Beyond this major expansion, July saw us welcome five new team members, grow our SPACES community through in-person events and support 20 community initiatives across 12 markets. Read about these updates and more in our Village Replay: https://lnkd.in/gcwnXCNd

We believe the future of local media isn't just about telling stories. It's about helping communities write better ones. Over the last 13 years, Village has evolved into a community impact organization that helps communities thrive through trusted journalism, meaningful engagement and innovative technology. Want to know more about us? Check out our new corporate site to learn Village's story : www.villagemedia.ca

Today marks an exciting milestone for Village Media. We are thrilled to announce a significant investment from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to support the expansion of our local journalism model into 15 communities across the United States. This is a defining moment for our company. Village is built on a simple belief: when communities have access to trusted local journalism, they are stronger, more connected and better equipped to thrive. The Knight Foundation's investment is a meaningful endorsement of that vision and of the sustainable model our team has worked to build. To every team member at Village Media, thank you. This milestone belongs to our journalists, product teams, sales professionals, community builders and everyone who works each day to strengthen the communities we serve. We are grateful to the Knight Foundation for its confidence in our work. This investment will help bring trusted, community-first journalism to even more communities, while accelerating the next chapter of Village Media's growth. The future of local journalism is worth building. We're proud to be helping lead the way. https://lnkd.in/g_8m-Emf

Village Media meets Rideau Hall for the Michener Awards, our Random Acts of Kindness team surprises over 100 local kids to kick off summer, we honoured six new community heroes, sponsored two dozen local initiatives—and that's just the start of June updates! Read about this and more in our latest Village replay: https://lnkd.in/gkpCSiSj

Our Random Acts of Kindness team surprised an entire neighbourhood, delivering hundreds of gifts to local kids to help kick off their summer. 💛 The memories made at this heartwarming event will not soon be forgotten. A huge thank you to our generous sponsors for making this incredible surprise possible, including: GFL Environmental Inc. District of Sault Ste. Marie Social Services Administration Board Canadian Tire Corporation Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities Adam Slumskie, CIM SSI - Systems Solutions Fit Bodies. Fit Minds. DNM Group Ltd. M&M Food Market Sault Ste. Marie YMCA Norpro KidSport Sault Ste. Marie https://lnkd.in/e2dxsFR9

May brought more industry recognition and standout achievements for our Village! Some highlights: -Village won first place at the Digital Innovation Awards in the Community Engagement Award category 🎊 -We introduced our inaugural Community Partner Specialist Awards winners 🌟 -We celebrated 21 community leaders through our Community Builders Awards program 🏆 -We helped raise over $40,000 for local shelters 🫶 -We donated $5,000 for local animals in need through our latest SPACES community challenge 🐾 -We sponsored 28 events & initiatives in our communities 💛 Read about this and more in our May newsletter ⤵️ https://lnkd.in/eitv4e5f

The Local Media Association announced its winners for this year's Digital Innovation Awards and we are thrilled to share Village Media was named first place for the Community Engagement Award for our Random Acts of Kindness program 🎊 Random Acts of Kindness works to deepen community connections by surprising deserving individuals, families and organizations with meaningful gifts and experiences based on reader nominations. The program, which started as a small project in Sault Ste. Marie in 2013, has grown exponentially over the past 13 years. Our local teams, supported by our Village Cares team, now coordinate multiple surprises a month across 24 communities in Ontario! Congratulations to everyone whose work brightens the lives of others through this initiative. This heartwarming and impactful program wouldn't be possible without your ongoing dedication 💛

ICYMI: Our Village journalists have been recognized across several national awards programs, demonstrating the quality and impact of the work they do each day. 👏 Nominations include: -A Michener Award, Canada’s highest honour in journalism -The Canadian Journalism Foundation Dr. Eric Jackman Award for Excellence in Journalism -Canadian Association of Journalists Awards, in the Scoop, Online Media, Freedom of Information Journalism and Community Written Feature categories -Three nominations for the Digital Publishing Awards in the Best News Coverage (Community Publication) category And a big win, with Jenny Lamothe taking home the National Newspaper Award’s Cora Hind Award for Local Reporting. 🎊 Read about these accomplishments and more in our latest Village newsletter ⤵️ https://lnkd.in/eZV_ZKka

Proud moment for Village Media 👏 The Trillium, our Queen’s Park bureau, has been named a finalist for Canada’s most prestigious honour in journalism. The Michener Award recognizes excellence in public service reporting that drives meaningful impact. The Trillium is one of six finalists, nominated for its investigative work examining the political ties between the Ford government and recipients of the Ministry of Labour’s controversial Skills Development Fund (SDF). Congratulations to The Trillium team on this well-deserved recognition. https://lnkd.in/euZ7cP9z

We are thrilled to have four of our Village journalists named as finalists for this year's National Newspaper Awards! Congratulations to Jessica Smith Cross, Charlie Pinkerton and Jack Hauen with The Trillium and Jenny Lamothe with Sudbury.com for the incredible work that garnered them these nominations. Read about this and more in our March Village update ⤵️ https://lnkd.in/emt3waDd