FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ACT Is A New Service To Personalize Community Engagement Opportunities Based on Recent Local News Happening In Your Neighborhood
Washington, D.C. – With local journalism constantly challenged to attract and sustain engagement from young, purpose-driven residents, a new service called ACT is stepping in to help. ACT serves as a bridge between local journalism and community engagement, a position that journalists have avoided to dismiss the responsibility of activism and advocacy. The new, free service recommends personalized opportunities for residents to participate in their community, and collaborate with neighbors and local organizations. The opportunities are paired with recent local news happening in that resident’s neighborhood, allowing them to take action on current and purposeful topics.
On Friday, ACT launched their website and announced details of their service coming in early September. The service is targeted for residents, who read local news and have the interest to engage in their community. The service will be released during a time of struggle for the journalism industry, who eagerly look for new ways to obtain readership and engagement from residents. ACT will invite and guide residents to news content and community opportunities relevant to their interests and needs at the given time. The opportunities recommended will be a combination of options to volunteer, attend events, collaborate with neighbors, and donate to local causes that are closely related to recent local news.
ACT’s approach allows for newsrooms to remain hands-off from advocating community engagement, and yet help residents build their role in the community and become more interested in local news happening near their home. As future generations of readers are sought out more from journalists, ACT will serve their needs by fueling more purpose into local news and help inspire them to become a loyal member of their community.
“One of our approaches at ACT is to collaborate with local organizations,” writes ACT co-founder, Mychal Sterling. “They play a big part in the growth and change in our communities. With ACT, we want to connect those organizations with the residents to make their neighborhoods better.”
ACT is a sister-startup of the local journalism platform, Bloom. Following a number of community-focused experiments at Bloom, the concept of ACT was entered into Techstars’ Startup Weekend Competition for Social Impact on April 7 in Washington D.C., where it placed 3rd out of 46 total projects. ACT’s team who formed at the competition consists of 4 members: Stephen Jefferson (co-founder of Bloom), Catherine Carlstedt, Mychal Sterling, and Kevin Colao. Each member joins ACT with outstanding expertise in both the non-profit and social enterprise sectors.
ACT’s website provides more information about its mission and service, and how people can get involved. In early September, they are scheduled to launch their service to the public. An announcement will be sent on the day of the launch to all people signed up on their website.
To learn more and sign up, visit act.bloom.li.
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