Bill Pearl Community Journalism Scholarship

Gerrie Schipske today announced that she has received confirmation from CSULB that the “Bill Pearl Community Journalism Scholarship” has been fully endowed. Schipske created and established the scholarship before the publisher of LBREPORT.com died from cancer as a tribute to the excellent work he did to help hold local government accountable through his extensive reporting. “CSULB Journalism and Public Relations Department confirmed that the ‘Bill Pearl Memorial Endowed Award’ has been fully endowed through more than $25,000 in contributions,” says Schipske. The former City Councilwoman first met Bill Pearl right after her election to City Council in 2006. “I cannot say enough about how grateful I am to have known Bill. He loved community journalism and worked tirelessly, by himself, to make sure the decision-making process of local government was explained and exposed to the public,” says Schipske. Schipske says Pearl became very emotional when she informed him that a scholarshi

Sunshine Week is a non-partisan, non-profit national initiative begun in 2005 by the American Society of News Editors — now News Leaders Association to promote a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information.  Participants have included news media, civic groups, libraries, nonprofit organizations, schools, and individuals concerned about the public's right to know.  Led by the American Society of News Editors and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, we celebrate Sunshine Week (March 13 – 20) as the annual celebration of all things related to open government and the public’s right to know. Thanks to Bill Pearl, LBREPORT did its part in making Long Beach more open. As you know, Bill recently passed, leaving a giant gap in community journalism. Training community journalists was a dream of Bill's and this scholarship can help make it come true.  In honor of Bill Pearl, help us completely endow the scholarship started last year in his nam

  Bill Pearl, publisher, journalist, open government advocate, friend, father, and husband passed away this week. In his memory, please contribute to the Bill Pearl Community Journalism Scholarship at CSULB School of Journalism. Click here to make your tax-deductible contribution. 

Thanks to everyone who has given. We need to make one last push to make it a permanent endowment in honor of Bill Pearl, publisher of LBREPORT.com. We are less than $5000 from hitting $25,000. This is an important scholarship as it encourages journalism students at CSULB to pursue community journalism -- the kind of journalism Bill Pearl has been doing and that we so desperately need in today's political world. So please. Reach into your pockets and pull out that extra bit of money and link here and donate today. Bill thanks you. CSULB Long Beach will thank you.

  Publisher and Editor of www.LBREPORT.com, Bill Pearl, is fighting cancer. You can send him a message that you care and appreciate all the years he has given to community journalism. That's why a donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, is challenging the community to step up and fully endow the Bill Pearl CSULB Community Journalism Scholarship. The donor will match every dollar you donate today up to $5,000. Click on this link and DONATE today. It is tax-deductible.

 Dear Supporters of LBREPORT and Bill Pearl: We have exciting news about the Bill Pearl Scholarship for Community Journalism. To fully endow this scholarship for it to continue for many years, we need to raise $25,000. To date, we have raised almost $15,000. Recently I have been informed that we have an anonymous donor who will match up to $5,000. That means if we match the $5,000 we will fully endow the scholarship. Many of you have already given and thank you. Please consider giving a little more and encourage anyone you know who appreciates what Bill Pearl has done to change local journalism and ask them to give. We can do this!!!

We are almost there! We have raised over $14,000 for the Bill Pearl Community Journalism Scholarship and it is ready for its first recipient this April. We need your help to raise $11,000 more to make this permanent and ongoing for many years to come. Please consider giving a little (or a lot more). Give today by clicking here .