Healthy NewsWorks had its origins at an Upper Darby elementary school in 2003 when Inquirer journalist Marian Uhlman and second grade teacher Susan Spencer got together to create the program for kids, writes Kenny Cooper for WHYY.

The purpose of Healthy NewsWorks was to address health issues and childhood reading problems as it turned students into young journalists.

Twenty years later, students in more than three dozen schools in Delaware and Montgomery Counties, Philadelphia and Camden have become health reporters.

 Uhlman is executive director.

“We started as an exclusively print newspaper project, but over the years, we’ve evolved and also now have a digital presence,” Uhlman said.

Students pick up research, interview and writing skills. They also learn how to present themselves and they develop confidence and teamwork, Uhlman said.

“The biggest lesson for them too, is that their words matter and that they are doing something for the community,” she said.

This year’s coverage focused on healing, with stories about being out in nature, mindfulness, meditation, and the therapeutic benefits of art and music.

With the pandemic, the program added a filmmaking  and book project on healing.

Read more at WHYY about how Healthy News Works has evolved from its Upper Darby origins.

Here’s a video explaining more about how Healthy NewsWorks operates.