‘The Charlotte News’ delivers; won’t you deliver, too?

Maybe it’s just me, but summer in Vermont is beyond compare. And summer in Charlotte just takes the cake. The trick seems to be slowing down enough to enjoy it, while still attending every picnic, barbeque, concert and county fair. It’s a balancing act, right? And, of course, when it’s really hot, you can’t help but slow down.

Our traditional summer fund drive has been anything but slow. Why are we raising money? Read on!

First, I’ll pause to tell you — in case you don’t know … The Charlotte News is an independent, nonprofit, local news source. It costs about $4,000 to produce the paper every two weeks, and we distribute it as a public service to every household in town — free of charge. By any measure, our budget would be described as “modest.” Advertising covers about half of the paper’s expenses, but we count on donations from town residents for the rest — readers like you who value reliable, local news coverage from Vermont’s oldest nonprofit, community newspaper. More than 900 subscribers read our weekly email newsletter (sign up on our website) and many now read the “paper” entirely online. Still others read the “hard copy” religiously, while some simply scan. Whatever your style happens to be, you know The Charlotte News delivers, no matter what.

Many of our supporters are “delivering,” too. In the three weeks since we launched our summer fundraising campaign, we’ve received gifts that move us to within $2,500 of our goal. Can you help us close the gap?

It’s important to stop right here and thank those who have donated so far. The donations we’ve received have helped us hire more writers, including Steve Goldstein, Juliann Phelps, Brett Yates and Rachel Stearns.

It is not too late to support this hyper-local news service. It’s really easy to do. And, I’d venture to add, it’s rewarding to support the paper (and website). We work hard on both to connect this community. These days, it may be more important than ever to be connected and to understand and appreciate our neighbors.

Please click to donate now or send your check to The Charlotte News, P.O. Box 251, Charlotte, VT 05445.

Many thanks!