$5 a month?
Fundraiser to help pay Canada Post
Lily Ryan
Nothing in life is free, is it? Dear reader, the newspaper you are holding between your hands is the result of hard work and money. The team at the Bulletin are your neighbours. We walk among you! And we are not only reporters. Some of us are bookkeepers, some of us are delivery folks. And some of us, yes, are journalists. All of us are professional, and all of us care deeply for Aylmer.
When PubliSac closed, the options for delivery were limited. Canada Post is the Lamborghini-priced delivery system. No local newspaper can afford to operate at that price! Yet here we are.
All year, we pinched our pennies and saved enough to pay for a month of Canada Post home delivery (as well as the additional costs of printing extra copies, folding each paper and delivering them from Mirabel, where the printer is located).
In response, Aylmer sent a wave of gratitude. Within the first week, letters to the editor poured in, as did telephone calls, visits to the office, messages on our social media and even stops by the house – all to say thank you for the free home delivery. Over the last year, we have averaged two letters to the editor per week. In the week following the first Canada Post neighbourhood mail delivery, a full dozen letters came in!
Proof that the system works couldn’t be more indisputable. The letters covered all kinds of topics from across Aylmer. New ad bookings came in as well – just what is needed to help close the circle on how to make this delivery system sustainable.
The key to sustainably delivering the newspaper to each household lies with you, dear reader. It costs around 5,500$ per week to deliver. Therefore, if 1,500 people sent in five dollars a week, this delivery system could be offered long term.
Feel inspired yet? Think of fake news coming into homes day in and day out. What is the antidote to fake news? Journalism.
Canada needs journalism of all kinds, including the local journalism provided by yours truly. Your local newspaper can play a part in ensuring a viable future for democracy. You can help with just five dollars a week!
Email your commitment today to: dons@bulletinaylmer with the subject line: LOVE THE BULLETIN.
Thank you, on behalf of the Bulletin team, your neighbour who can’t afford to support the local newspaper, and the future of local journalism.
