I hope you are all keeping well during the current COVID-19 crisis.

As a community of journalists, it is important to support each other especially if you are directly involved in covering COVID-19. Mentoring is at the heart of what we do, and we know how invaluable this is, especially now. We are encouraging our current cohort of mentees and mentors to remain in contact via Skype, email, phone, or whatever means possible while they are unable to meet in person. This applies to all of our past mentees and mentors and our wider network of friends.

You may have seen that we opened our application round this month for the next early career mentoring scheme. However, given COVID-19, we are now revising our plans and will delay the 2020-21 scheme by six months, i.e. invite applications in the autumn with a view to starting the next mentoring scheme in January 2021. If you have already applied you do not need to reapply. In the meantime, we are also asking current mentors and mentees if they would like to continue their mentoring remotely for an extra six months so that young journalists can be supported during these difficult days and months.

Our mentees gained much advice and inspiration at our fantastic masterclass day last month. We would like to thank all our speakers who volunteered their time and expertise for free. We are hoping to continue the masterclass days but hosting them remotely for now. We will send details later.

The John Schofield Trust is a small charity with a big mission to make newsrooms more inclusive. We could not operate without the commitment and support of so many friends, partners and volunteers. Thank you for your time, donations and the inspiration you give as a community of journalists and professionals.

Please do get in touch if there is anything we can do to support you, even if it’s just to talk to someone. Our thoughts are with you all, as we know you are covering a story which is making history and changing everyone’s lives.

Keep well and look after yourselves.

Susie