OCOTBER 2O, 2023 PUZZLES GROUNDCOVER NEWS 11 Groundcover Vendor Code While Groundcover is a non-profit, and paper vendors are self-employed contractors, we still have expectations of how vendors should conduct themselves while selling and representing the paper. The following is our Vendor Code of Conduct, which every vendor reads and signs before receiving a badge and papers. We request that if you discover a vendor violating any tenets of the Code, please contact us and provide as many details as possible. Our paper and our vendors should be positively impacting our County. • Groundcover will be a voluntary purchase. I agree not to ask for more than the cover price or solicit donations by any other means. • When selling Groundcover, I will always have the current biweekly issue of Groundcover available for customer purchase. • I agree not to sell additional goods or products when selling the paper or to panhandle, including panhandling with only one paper or selling past monthly issues. • I will wear and display my badge when selling papers and refrain from wearing it or other Groundcover gear when engaged in other activities. • I will only purchase the paper from Groundcover Staff and will not sell to or buy papers from other Groundcover vendors, especially vendors who have been suspended or terminated. • I agree to treat all customers, staff, and other vendors respectfully. I will not “hard sell,” threaten, harass or pressure customers, staff, or other vendors verbally or physically. • I will not sell Groundcover under the influence of drugs or alcohol. • I understand that I am not a legal employee of Groundcover but a contracted worker responsible for my own well-being and income. • I understand that my badge is property of Groundcover and will not deface it. I will present my badge when purchasing the papers. • I agree to stay off private property when selling Groundcover. • I understand to refrain from selling on public buses, federal property or stores unless there is permission from the owner. • I agree to stay at least one block away from another vendor in downtown areas. I will also abide by the Vendor Corner Policy. • I understand that Groundcover strives to be a paper that covers topics of homelessness and poverty while providing sources of income for the homeless. I will try to help in this effort and spread the word. If you would like to report a violation of the Vendor Code please email contact@groundcovernews. com or fill out the contact form on our website. BREAKFAST from page 9 organizations, were $153,764 or about $421 a day which includes rent, heat, electricity, maintenance and janitorial besides food. "I think we're very frugal, actually in the long run," Halloran said. Nishi said determining the proper amount of food used daily is a balancing act. A former lawyer who has volunteered at Food Gatherers, Nishi also has 13 years of volunteer experience cooking all the food for The Young People's Theater of Ann Arbor, which she described as "an eight-day marathon." "That's just Sue,” said Peggy Lynch, Mercy House owner and MISSION Board Member. "I think it's amazing that she made it part of her mission to be out networking. We have the opportunity to share resources and information. I'm grateful she reached out." Mercy House shared donated sleeping bags with the Breakfast Program. Many guests to the Breakfast Program have additional needs, physical, financial and emotional. Nishi is working on filling the clothing donation rack with necessary outdoor gear as well as dress clothes for employment. And, of course, continuing to speak with guests as often as wanted or needed. "I like to err on the side of giving chances," Nishi said. "I'm trying to treat every person as a human being, with respect and honoring their dignity. When you look around the room and see people who are having challenges and don't have resources or don't have shelter, I don't believe that is a direct result only of their personal choices. It is not. The playing field is not level. We don't all start in the same place, we don't all have the same privileges, we don't all have the same upbringing and adults who nurture us in the same way. You know that phrase, ‘There but for the grace of God, go I?’ You look at the blessings you have in your own life. We can't judge. We don't know why people are where they are and who they are. We need to meet them where they are, we need to call them by name and look them in the eye and say how are you this morning and welcome and I'm glad you came in. And I believe that deep in my soul."
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