September 2, 2011

CNN Series Follows MoJo’s Investigation of Teen Homes

Photos: New Bethany Alumni; Barbed Wire: Brian Hagiwara/Getty Images

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A month after Mother Jones published our investigation of fundamentalist religious compounds, CNN is covering abusive teen homes in a two-part investigative series on Anderson Cooper 360° called “Ungodly Discipline.” On September 1, coverage focused on Hephzibah House, an Indiana boarding school for troubled teenage girls that has long battled accusations of abuse from its former students.

Just in case you missed it in our July/August issue, read “Horror Stories From Tough-Love Teen Homes,” and see our slideshow of “Survivor Snapshots From Teen-Home Hell.” Teen girls were sent to Independent Fundamental Baptist homes like the New Bethany School for Girls to build character and to reform from troubled ways, but instead, they say they were abused and tortured. Former residents call themselves “survivors” and compare their time in teen homes to prison sentences.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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