By Ginni Spencer, Board Member, The Bedford Citizen
Patting yourself on the back is awkward especially when you are holding out your other hand asking for a donation. Good thing I am a yoga practitioner…because that’s exactly what I am doing.
The Bedford Citizen takes pride every day in providing accurate, objective, and reliable reporting in support of our mission to promote citizen participation in all aspects of community life. However, it is in preparing citizens for our annual Town Election and Town Meeting that we believe we really shine. So…prepare for some back patting.
Town Moderator Cathy Cordes recently contacted us to say “I really appreciate all the coverage The Bedford Citizen gives about Town Meeting: pre-meeting announcements, coverage about articles in the Warrant, how to find information online and coverage after the meeting. I believe The Citizen’s efforts have contributed to more participation and better-informed voters. Thank you!”
Well, blush. Our coverage leading up to Town Meeting included everything from detailed information about Warrant Articles to stories about board and committee decisions made in preparation for Town Meeting. We then aggregated all this information into a compendium to help you get ready for the decisions you would be asked to make during the Meeting. This compendium (published March 22) included links to A Guide to Town Meeting and A Guide to Civil Discourse, FAQs on the purpose and protocols of the Meeting, videos of public service announcements made by Middle School students, and even a poetic salute to Town Meeting 2019 by Lois Pulliam. For veterans and newcomers alike, The Citizen is a one-stop resource to enable you to understand, speak, and vote at Town Meeting.
Similarly, a voter wishing to know the names, experience, and positions of candidates running for office can easily find this information on The Bedford Citizen website well before the election takes place. BeTC, our town calendar, provided dates and times for public candidate forums and links to candidate websites for neighborhood coffees. More people vote – and vote with discernment — when they know the slate of candidates and understand the issues at stake – makes sense, right? That’s what The Citizen is all about.
Now, time for the open hand.
We need your financial support to continue this important work. More than ever with other local resources admittedly less able to cover Bedford news in depth and as frequently as we do, The Citizen is THE resource for community engagement. We want to keep up with all that is going on in our town while maintaining our high standards of objectivity and reliability. We’re redesigning our website, recruiting more writers, and enhancing our reach with programs of public interest such as an upcoming seminar on First Amendment Rights. Committed volunteers remain a core part of what makes The Citizen tick, but we must have the financial resources to support their efforts.
Please make a donation today. Take advantage of the Match Program in effect right now that will have the effect of doubling whatever you give. Consider becoming a sustainer donor – it’s a near-painless way to give generously month by month instead of all at once. If you’ve never given before, think about how you rely on The Citizen and become part of our deeply appreciated donor family. And for everyone, gifts in celebration of or in memory of friends and loved ones can be a meaningful salute to those who love and serve Bedford and would be honored to be recognized as a supporter of The Citizen. As always, your contributions are deeply appreciated by The Citizen.
Checks may be made payable to The Bedford Citizen, PO Box 212, Bedford, MA 01730. Please include a note with your contact information if the donation is in honor of another individual.
Click on the DONATE NOW button for credit card and/or sustainer donations. 
The Bedford Citizen is a 501(c)3 corporation and all donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
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