What is L.A. Youth’s mission?
L.A. Youth is a leading advocacy voice for teens through journalism, literacy and civic engagement. We use media as a tool for young people to examine themselves, their communities and the world at large.

How did L.A. Youth start?
L.A. Youth was created in 1988 after a U.S. Supreme Court decision empowered school administrators to control the content of school newspapers. Many high school journalism programs and newspapers were devastated by this decision. L.A. Youth filled the void by restoring a free press and creating for young people a journalism program that fosters critical thinking, writing skills, literacy and civic education. Click here for a message from L.A. Youth’s Executive Director and Publisher Donna C. Myrow.

How is L.A. Youth doing today?
L.A. Youth newspaper now has a readership of 350,000 in Los Angeles County, and a website at www.layouth.com that attracts more than 55,000 page views per month. We’ve also launched a special project to publish the work of youth in the foster care system.
Many alums have graduated from college and have built on their experiences at L.A. Youth to have success in careers in journalism, teaching, research, and some other fields.

How is L.A. Youth funded?
Like all non-profits, L.A. Youth has a board of directors which oversees our operations and helps us raise money through foundation grants, corporate gifts, individual donations and advertising. We also get some items and services donated to our organization. Since 1988, our mission to help teens has drawn support from more than 5,000 contributors.
Some of our largest supporters have included Allstate Insurance, Annenberg Foundation, Apple Computers, Arthur Blank Family Foundation, Bank of America Foundation, William C. Bannerman Foundation, Bing Family Foundation, Brinson Foundation, The California Endowment, The California Wellness Foundation, Coca-Cola Company, Cybercanics, the Entertainment Industry Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, J. Paul Getty Trust, Kaiser Permanente, Los Angeles Times, News Corp. Foundation, Northrup Grumman, Open Society Institute, Pacific Life Foundation, Parsons Foundation, The Rose Hills Foundation, Roth Family Foundation, The Dwight Stuart Foundation, Surdna Foundation and Weingart Foundation.
L.A. Youth is a registered non-profit 501(c)3 corporation.