It’s time to nurture our garden — together

Charlotte is a town of gardens.

Some are public — the gardens near the Old Brick Store, around the library and next to the Quinlan covered bridge. Others are private, glimpsed on drives around town or explored during visits with friends and neighbors.

In order to thrive, through this growing season and beyond, gardens need tending and nourishment. So does The Charlotte News. Like a garden, it is a source of perennial enjoyment. Now is your opportunity to help it grow.

For 66 years, your local, nonprofit community newspaper has been tended by hundreds of donors and volunteers. Every year, we produce 25 newspapers and 50 emailed newsletters, brought to life by staff and volunteers, and nourished by our donors and advertisers, people just like you. Now, we need your support in the form of a voluntary donation.

Our Annual Fund campaign is underway and runs through August. Our goal is to raise $25,000 in gifts to keep the presses rolling and the website rockin’ through year’s end. Generous donations from our readers make up the majority of our annual budget.

All first-time gifts are matched dollar-for-dollar by a grant from the Lionheart Charitable Trust. A $30 gift becomes $60; or when you give $100, we receive $200.

Gardening has its own special rewards — the spectacular spring peony show, July’s daylily kaleidoscope, bountiful crops of tomatoes and basil and October’s spectacular foliage.

For those who water and weed The Charlotte News – and especially those of us who provide financial support – the rewards are less tangible but hold special meaning. Every time the newspaper arrives in our mailboxes, we know we pitched in.

Now, on behalf of the board and staff, I’m asking you to pitch in, too.

Show that you value your local, nonprofit community newspaper with a gift in any amount — online at charlottenewsvt.org or with a check in the envelope enclosed with this newspaper.

For those readers who have already made a donation this year, thank you for your support. You are making a difference.

(John Quinney is a member of the board of directors of The Charlotte News and chair of the fundraising committee.)