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Dear friend,
I was recently reading an article in the Daily Yonder by Madeline de Figueiredo about what the slashing of Medicaid will likely mean for rural Idahoans, and I paused to think, “Where else would I have learned this but in the Yonder?”
Local media might have covered it; but as we’re all too painfully aware, sources of local news are closing at an alarming rate. The significance here for me was that, although the particulars of the issue were specific to that region, the general contours were the shape of stories playing out in communities across rural America. It was what the story had to say to so many that struck me.
You don’t find rural journalism of this caliber often. Which is why I’m asking you to consider donating to the Daily Yonder today.
I think I first discovered the Yonder around 2014 when, as a health care reporter, I began developing a particular interest in rural health. I wrote my first piece for the Yonder the following year. It was about the wisdom rural communities have to share in how to more effectively counter the overdose epidemic.
In the years since, my beat has primarily been Appalachia and the adjacent Southeast. As a freelancer, the Yonder’s editors have afforded me the opportunity to roam, to seek out stories I feel reflect what’s unfolding in much of rural America – each with its own nuances.
Daily Yonder Contributor Taylor Sisk. (Photo by Jesse Wright)
In January 2023, I pitched a series, one that would feature difference-makers in communities across the country. It’s called A Rural Calling and ithas allowed me to delve into the personal histories of remarkable rural people, and in so doing, I hope and trust, to offer a glimpse into life out there beyond the multiplex and megamall.
I’ve ridden along with Rev. Brad Davis through the hollowed communities of southern West Virginia’s coal country, and got to know Savannah Barrett, who co-founded the Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange, a leadership program that works to connect folks across any and every perceived barrier.
I’ve toured South Carolina’s Lowcoutry with Yvette McDaniel, absorbing her stories of traveling the world as a classically trained operatic soprano before returning home to invest her wisdom in her community’s youth. And I was humbled by the accomplishments of Marcos Silva, who’s helping craft a hopeful future for the Rio Grande Valley.
Most recently, I hung out with a group of citizens on Florida’s panhandle who’re taking action to save one of the nation’s last pristine sand-bottom rivers.
I’m so grateful to the folks at the Daily Yonder in so many ways. Their place in our media landscape is unique and invaluable. I’m honored to support that work in any way I can.
I hope you’ll consider making a donation. From now until the end of the year, your gifts will be matched by generous matching grants, making your generosity even more powerful.
Thank you for listening. Take good care.
Taylor Sisk
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Thanks to support from the Wyncote Foundation, the Rural Partner Fund, the Roundhouse Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Dee Davis and Mimi Pickering, and other generous donors, contributions from individuals are eligible to be matched up to $1,000 per donor from November 1 to December 31, 2025. New monthly recurring donations are matched at the 12-month value of the donation, up to $1,000. For more details about eligibility see NewsMatch guidelines.
The Daily Yonder is a project of the Center for Rural Strategies, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Gifts may be tax deductible; consult a tax adviser for more information.
The post How We Tell Rural Stories With National Resonance appeared first on The Daily Yonder.
