Oftentimes, when relying on reader participation for the editorial in this magazine, the editors here will get a little anxious. If reader responses are the hallmark for a project, what happens when that input is shoddy, or absent altogether?
So when the call went out in our November issue for readers to submit short essays about local non-profits and charities they were involved with for possible inclusion in our annual Give Guide, the first question, naturally, was "What if nobody writes?" We were afraid that after the deadline for submissions had passed, we would be stuck coaxing friends to write something, anything really, that we could work with. In this business, you don't want to be stuck in the unseemly position of scrambling to fill a blank page.
And then it happened. Our e-mail inboxes started filling up, readers stopped by the office to drop their submissions off, we even got a couple of faxes. By the time the deadline rolled around, we had dozens of essays to choose from, representing all sorts of local charities -
some of them unbeknownst to us. Suddenly, our anxiety over participation turned into trepidation about how we were going to choose which five essays we would run in this magazine. A good problem to have, but a problem nonetheless.
In the prompt, we asked our readers to share how being involved with a local charity or non-profit had positively affected their lives - either through volunteering or being the beneficiary of services. We wanted strong, personal anecdotes. We wanted emotion. We wanted what every magazine editor wants: good stories (good grammar and strong sentence structure also helped).
Throughout the years, our writers at this magazine have written many pieces about local charities and good causes, but none of these articles comes close to conveying the true benevolence charities can offer when compared to the five essays we chose for publication. We didn't take the subject of the essay into consideration; our editors relied solely on what was written and the story that was told. And it was a difficult decision to make. After putting this package together, two things are certain: our readers are also good writers and our readers care deeply about the charities in their lives.
The following 10 pages of this magazine, the 2010 Smiley Pete Give Guide, consist of these essays, pictures of the essayists, and in-house background information on each of the organizations. More importantly, aside from shedding some light on these inspirational charities, you will also find in the following pages ways that you can help give back to these organizations -
through volunteering your time, offering supplies and, of course, donating money.
Visit us online at www.smileypete.com/give to find direct links to wish lists and donation pages for each of the charities, as well as to read all of the submitted essays that we simply did not have room to print.