Editorials

Commentary: How about some help?

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By Gary P. Custer

Tuesday, November 29, -0001

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The past 12 months have been difficult for most non-profit groups, including East Village Magazine. Costs are rising, the need for services is increasing and the competition for charitable contributions is getting greater as public funds for non-profits are vanishing.

Although East Village Magazine has never received government funds, it has been affected because it must compete with hundreds of non-profit agencies in the area which are desperately seeking non-government sources of support just to provide a minimal level of services to a growing disadvantaged population.

Even the groups that traditionally hold campaigns to provide food and clothing for the poor children and homeless in Flint during the holiday season had difficulties in finding the resources they needed this year.

It has not been easy for us in 1995, but we are encouraged by the fact that we were able to provide you significantly more information about the things that affect the quality of life in your neighborhood during the past 12 months than we were able to provide in any of the past 19 years.

Despite the certainty that times will be even tougher in the coming year, we have plans to do even more in our 21st year. But, as always, both the quality and quantity of information we can provide you depends entirely on how much support you provide.

No matter whether you espouse the political philosophy of the new kids in Congress who demand a perfectly horizontal fiscal teeter-totter or their more civil and compassionate predecessors, it should be obvious that times are going to get tougher.

Not only will the very young, very old and very poor be affected, but the reasonably comfortable, such as you and your neighbors, will find that it is going to be increasingly difficult to maintain the quality of life in your neighborhood which you have come to expect.

We need your help to continue to provide you the information you are going to need to ensure that the social-economic dogma being preached by the political cult which has taken temporary control of our country does not seriously affect your neighborhood.

Or, if your political guru happens to be the former Missouri resident who seems to be a prime candidate for the Weight Watchers program, we need your help to provide the information you need to ensure that the "liberal government establishment" does not infringe on your right to live in harmony with your neighbors in a pleasant, safe neighborhood.

Specifically, we need your continuing financial support, your unwanted office equipment and supplies and a little of your time to provide the information you need to make informed decisions about the things which affect your neighborhood.

If you can communicate with the written word, you could help us keep your neighbors informed about the things which affect their neighborhood as a member of our volunteer news staff.

What you can do is only limited by what you can learn about journalism, your city and the things which affect neighborhoods. You must be able to spend at least 10 to 12 hours a week in the afternoons and early evenings to cover neighborhood meetings and the issues which affect residents. If you have access to a phone and a computer, most of the time will be spent away from the office.

If you have advertising or sales skills, you could help us with advertising. You must be able to spend about 10 hours a week handling advertising accounts.

Sales or advertising experience is helpful, but not required if you have good verbal skills and are willing to learn our low-key approach to helping Flint's legitimate businesses and community organizations get their message to the public.

We are also looking for people with advertising design experience to create advertising messages for publication. Hours are flexible if you have access to a computer.

If you lack journalism or advertising skills, consider spending a couple of afternoons a week as a member of our volunteer clerical staff. While you are helping us maintain our extensive information files, you will have a chance to learn a bit about journalism, advertising, non-profit group administration, community affairs and a variety of other things which are part of publishing a community magazine.

And of course, we are always looking for people who are willing to spend 45 minutes to an hour each month to see that their neighbors get the information we provide. We currently have areas in all neighborhoods which do not have a permanent volunteer distributor.

We are also looking for volunteers with specialized professional skills to plan and run specific non-time governed community programs, including staff training, volunteer recruitment, recycling and computer operations.

We can also make good use of unwanted office equipment and supplies. Our computers are a combination of donated obsolete Apple IIs and Macs. We are always looking for computers we can use, or that can be cannibalized for parts to keep the other machines and peripherals operating. Many people have unwanted computer equipment which has little or no resale value, but which we could use. If you are one, consider contributing it to East Village Magazine. We are also looking for a usable copy and fax machine, file cabinets and unwanted office supplies.

If you do not have time or office equipment to contribute, consider contributing cash to help us pay the bills. East Village Magazine is the ultimate penny-pinching shoestring operation, but we still have to pay publication costs. Advertising, even in the best of years, pays less than 50 percent of the costs. Without contributions from our readers, the magazine could not exist.

Finally, you can help by making people more aware of the publication you have benefited from for more than 19 years.

The company you work for or the non-profit groups you support could probably benefit from advertising in East Village Magazine. Tell the people in charge about the benefits.

If your company is concerned about our community, ask the person in charge to consider matching employee contributions to East Village Magazine.

As you can see there are many ways that you can help us provide more of the information you need in these tough times to preserve and improve your neighborhood.

If you are not a supporter, please consider becoming one by contributing your time, your unwanted office equipment and supplies or your money. At the least please thank your neighbors who made East Village Magazine possible in 1995.

The people who are contributing their time are listed in the masthead.

Those who contributed money, equipment and supplies to produce East Village Magazine during 1995 include
Bette Adams, South Lynch Street; Terry R. Bankert, East Court Street; Jack Bickert, Maxine Avenue; Bessie Brown, Crapo Street; Ralph Brown, East Second Street; Eleanor Bullen, South Franklin Avenue; Lynne Burnett, Nebraska Avenue; and Donna Bussell, Pierce Street.

Beatrice Caldwell, East Second Street; Jean Calef, Woodlawn Park Drive; Archie Campbell, Chippawa Street; Chris Caughlin, Grand Blanc Township; Clark and Eva Chastain, Blanchard Avenue; Dorothy Cliff, East Vernon Drive; Marjorie Coates, South Meade Street; Edwin and Casey Custer, Crapo Street; and Nola Custer, Avon Street.

Roberta Demock, South Meade Street; Sidney and Clara Belle Dixon, Commonwealth Avenue; Marie Ellis, Hills Street; Pat Frantom, Windemere Avenue; Salim Gantous, Mountain Avenue; and Terrie and Roger Gilmour, Linwood Avenue.

Leota Hammill, Commonwealth Avenue; Charles and Kathryn Hansen, Blanchard Avenue; Jennifer Heymoss, South Meade Street; Jean Higgins Greenfield Avenue; Lois Holt, Crapo Street; and William and Katherine Huber, East Court Street.

Charles T. Jadwin, Flint Township; Lena Johnson, East Court Street; and Marjorie Johnson, Commonwealth Avenue.

Richard Kanda, Cromwell Avenue; Louis Kasle, Woodlawn Park Drive; Robert and Marian Keel, Beard Street; Watson Kenworthy, Commonwealth Avenue; Ann Kraft, East Court Street; Jacqueline Kramer, East Kearsley Street; and Kara Kvasnicka, Avon Street.

Thomas Landaal, Hills Street; Kenneth and Joan Larzelere, Woodside Drive; Christine McClurg Hills Street; Christine McVannel, Montclair Avenue; Ruth Mott, East Kearsley Street; and Esther Munster, Windemere Avenue.

Michael Neithercut, Thomson Street; James and Sally Offrink, Pierce Street; Peter Paul, Brookside Drive; Joseph Pintar, Glendale Avenue; Leonid and Helen Radcenko, Ridgelawn Avenue; Dorothy Ringlein, South Lynch Street; and Gilbert Rubenstein, Montclair Avenue.

Grayce Scholt, Kensington Avenue; Lucy Schultz, Maxine Avenue; Joan Shelton Seymour, Lansing; Ruth Sharpe, Maxine Avenue; Jean Shipley, Davison; John Smith, McKinley Street; Martha Spangler, South Lynch Avenue; and Elizabeth Sullivan, East Street.

Joyce Thewald, Deleware Avenue; Delos and June Tilson, Windemere Avenue; Marjorie Tuck, Chandler Avenue; Lyman Valentine, Greenfield Avenue; and Ruth Van Zandt, Crapo Street.

Paul and Reba Walling, Kensington Avenue; Donald and Cookie Wascha, Woodlawn Park Drive; Lillian Weller, Glendale Avenue; Ray Withey, Guilford, Conn.; Leo Wiljamaa, South Vernon Avenue; and Joseph and Mary Williams, Kensington Avenue.

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