Basic Info on Our 110 Degrees Magazine

September 10th, 2006

If you’re in want of a detailed description of what the 110 Degrees Magazine is and where it came from, here are some of the basics:

"Which group of youth does your program primarily serve?" 

Our 110 Degrees Magazine hires 85-100% of our 14-21 year-old youth staff from low-income households, half or more of which also consider themselves minority youth.

"How many youth does your program serve annually?"  

For the last six program years (Fiscal Year 2000-2001 through Fiscal Year 2005-2006), we served 20 youth each year. The program is all about long-term, in-depth mentoring (4 days a week for nine months). Youth demand has grown exponentially over the last three years especially. Last year, for example, 120+ low-income youth applied for 20 spots. This Fiscal Year (2006-2007), we are increasing the youth spots to 30—a capacity growth of 50%. We were able to do this after a successful fundraising campaign that sought to grow the number of youth we could serve with without sacrificing program quality and therefore the positive long-term impact on the youth.

"What geographical area(s) does your program serve?"

Most youth we serve via the 110º program live within city limits but some have lived in Sells, Oro Valley, and Sahuarita.  We recruit youth from all over Tucson in public high schools, charter high schools, GED programs and other community institutions. 

"During what hours does your program serve youth?"

Program hours are 2-6pm Monday through Thursday for youth to come in and work 9 hours a week with their adult mentors and youth  colleagues.  Most youth come to our office after they get out of school and work 4-6pm Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and 3-6pm on Wednesday.

"Do youth participate in your program on a recurring basis?"

Veteran youth participants are hired back each Fall if they want to take on more leadership responsibilities and peer mentoring, as well as improve their skills in writing, photography, researching, interviewing, and professionalism.                                                               

Program History: "Describe the origins of your program and greatest accomplishments to date."

ORIGINS—In the beginning of VOICES, during planning meetings in 98-99, and 99-00, many youth talked about how sick they were of people being afraid of them. One  Hispanic youth told the story of seeing an elderly white woman drop her bag and how he picked it up and ran after her and how she ran away from him and cowered in a corner. Another young Hispanic man talked about walking through a mall parking lot with his friends and hearing the sounds of car doors being locked.  In those early VOICES planning meetings, the youth  came up with the idea of bringing together youth throughout Tucson to create an annual magazine that would destroy negative stereotypes by telling the whole stories of their lives. “I want people in this town to see what I see, feel what I feel,” said one of the youth participants.  The 110º   Program continues to be about helping low-income youth be heard and seen—on their terms, in their words, through their photographs.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS—1) Consistent success over the last six program years in achieving   positive outcomes for youth in the areas of cognitive, artistic, emotional, leadership, professional and higher education skills. 2) Distinctions—inclusion in the 2006 report, Urban Youth Programs in America: A Study of Youth, Community, and Social Justice Conducted for the Ford Foundation; the 2005 Dynamic Duo/Making A Difference Award for 110º Program Writing and Photography Directors; and the 2004 International Reading Association Award for Excellence in Promoting Literacy.

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Program Philosophy: "Describe the mission/vision and goals of your organization."

VOICES  mission is to document Tucson’s community stories and inspire individuals to explore themselves and their connection to place.  Participants train in the documentary arts through collaborative mentoring relationships.  We produce professional work that celebrates diverse perspectives.

VOICES  goals are: to increase people’s abilities to examine and express their personal and community stories so they can more deeply explore their identity, their culture, and their possibilities; to improve people’s artistic, intellectual, professional, and emotional skills through documentary arts mentoring; to deepen intergenerational connections by sharing stories, breaking down stereotypes, and creating an authentic youth/adult collaboration culture; to strengthen our sense of community by bringing people together, sharing experiences, breaking invisible barriers, and increasing awareness of community issues—past, present, and future.

VOICES exists for many different reasons, the most important of which is the facilitation of youth development through in-depth mentoring in the documentary and media arts.  VOICES  mentors focus on strengthening the artistic, emotional, intellectual, civic and professional skills of the youth they work with.  VOICES mentors uphold a philosophy of “collaborative mentoring” which pushes the skilled adults to base their teaching on principles of inquiry, dialogue and youth participation.  These principles were established to institutionalize the belief that youth have as much to teach the adult mentors as the adult mentors have to teach the youth.  These principles empower the youth to produce work that expresses themselves in the most articulate way possible because the adult mentors established a foundation of trust through an egalitarian spirit, nurturing and consistency.  

Program Qualities:"How does your program serve youth? What makes your program unique?"

A Youth POV. We ask low-income teens to tell personal and community stories from their point of view—a point of view we rarely hear in the mainstream press.  Publishing is an act of affirmation for the youth that readers are interested in hearing what they have to say.

The Interdisciplinary Arts. VOICES  staff and volunteer mentors help youth to express their stories using a unique blend of the literary, photographic, and documentary arts.  VOICES  mentors encourage the youth to explore the genres of literary journalism and creative non-fiction.  The mentoring is in-depth and long-term and based heavily on field work.  Mentors are professionals in the fields of journalism, the documentary arts, and/or photography.

A Big, Authentic Audience for Youth Voices. The 110º youth voices and visions reach a huge audience of 115,000+ because they are published in Tucson’s largest daily newspaper, The Arizona Daily Star, as a magazine—110°: Tucson Youth Tell Tucson’s Stories.  The Arizona Daily Star has made available to all the youth on the staff the opportunity to publish their work not just in the 110º Magazine, but whenever they have produced publishable work—which means that the youth are able to publish more than just one story in The Star if they work hard to produce professional-quality work.

Pima Community College credit.  Youth who complete the 110º Program receive three free credits from Pima Community College/Downtown Campus in “Introduction to Community and Oral History.” These 100-level credits are directly applicable to their associate’s and bachelor’s degrees. 

Entry Filed under: 110 ° Magazine