Hi there,

Today is a big day. This is the time of year when The Discourse pushes hardest to ask for your support. Our goal is to raise $10,000 by Dec. 15 to help ensure the sustainability of our independent community journalism.

I understand that times are tough, and many people are not in a place to contribute, and that’s OK. But if this work means something to you and you are able to support it, I hope you’ll consider taking the leap. 

The journalism industry in Canada is in trouble, and it truly is an existential threat — for The Discourse and for small outlets like ours still serving our communities with meaningful news and information, against the odds. 

Making a monthly contribution to The Discourse is the most important thing you can do to help. It’s a vote of confidence, that we have earned your trust and that what we are doing is worth fighting for. 

I want to offer you something as a gesture of just how much this means to me, to my colleagues at The Discourse and the communities we serve. I’ve been feeling crafty, so I put together a special Discourse gift pack: A sticker, a bookmark and a pair of earrings, designed and handmade by me and inspired by you.

Quantities are limited, but I promise to send the gifts to all who sign up for a monthly contribution in any amount before midnight on Thursday, Nov. 30.

Your monthly contribution will count times 12 towards our goal, and you’ll have my eternal gratitude. (I'll send your gift to the shipping address you give when you sign up — email me if you want it sent somewhere else!)

Can I ask you a question? In the last year, have you read something in The Discourse that meant something to you? That helped you better understand an important issue in your community? That offered important context or information that wasn’t available anywhere else?

I hope the answer is yes. Our goal has always been to be primarily supported by voluntary contributions from people who find value in this work, who believe that their community would be worse off if one day The Discourse was no longer around.

The truth is that our continued existence is far from guaranteed. A small percentage of the people who read these newsletters contribute towards paying the journalists who make it happen. We need to change that, and this is your chance to help.

My colleagues Lauren Kaljur, Madeline Dunnett and I sported Discourse earrings when we met up at the Woodstove Festival earlier this month.

It’s all about community. It’s all about the people. And I’m reminded, time and time again, of what this work means to people. I was in a meeting recently and a few of my colleagues expressed that their job with Discourse Community Publishing marked the very first time they felt genuinely cared for and supported in their place of work. 

That’s what your support means. It’s about great journalism in support of healthier communities, and it’s also about good jobs for talented journalists, in a time where those are increasingly scarce. 

This work isn’t easy. Despite our many successes, The Discourse is still a ways off from sustainability and stability. 

It’s not really about the stickers, the bookmarks and earrings. But I hope that this offering will serve as a symbol of how much your support means to all of us at The Discourse.

Around this time last year, I bought a crafting machine as a gift to myself. I love the creative process and I love making little meaningful things that bring smiles to the faces of people I care about.

People ask all the time if I’ll start selling the things I make, and I’ve thought about it. But the truth is that crafting is the most fun for me as an act of love and generosity — and it’s in that spirit that I decided to make these thank-you gift packs. 

I designed the sticker with a touch of nostalgia for the pre-internet era, and with generous help from sticker consultant Lys Morton (previously with The Discourse Nanaimo, now reporting full time for one of our sister publications, the Revelstoke Mountaineer.)

“As the kids say these days, I would go feral for this sticker,” he said in reaction to an early version of the design. Thanks, Lys! 😍

My colleague Shalu Mehta came up with the suggestion of a Discourse bookmark — a perfect, useful gift for curious community members. The design was inspired by a young friend of mine named Jayde, who loves books and butterflies. We recently spent an afternoon crafting together, and she found a design for 3-D butterfly bookmarks on TikTok. 

The Discourse’s version of the bookmark is inspired by the anise swallowtail, a butterfly that is native to Vancouver Island and western North America. I had started with the iconic monarch butterfly, but thanks to Lys’s recent reporting I now know that monarchs are not native to Vancouver Island, and a different choice would be more suitable!

The earrings are a simple hoop featuring the icon from The Discourse’s logo. I’ve handed out a few pairs to colleagues and friends, and am honestly just so thrilled every time someone is excited to don this symbol of support.

Whether or not we’ve yet done enough to earn your support, here you are at the bottom of a rather long email. And you being here is proof that this matters, that this is all still worth fighting for. From the very bottom of my heart, thank you. Thank you so very much.