2 GROUNDCOVER NEWS GROUNDCOVER Vendor Appreciation Week spans February 6-12 this year. Vendor Week is the seven days we reserve each year to celebrate Groundcover News vendors and all they do in the community. This edition you are reading now is the Vendor Appreciation Week issue, which we fill with vendor voices and messages that affirm the work of selling Groundcover News. We receive complaints every now and then at the Groundcover office. We typically do not publish them, unless they are specifically submitted as Letters to the Editor, in which case we are obliged to publish. Still, some complaints rise to the level of necessitating a response. The following message is a complaint that was filed to the Michigan Attorney General’s office in October, 2022. “Groundcover news is parading as a nonprofit foundation in Ann Arbor Michigan established to assist homeless people in the community [to] get their act together and get back into society rehabilitated. These individuals who LINDSAY CALKA Managing Director ground cover is providing vendor licenses are not at all homeless or in need of rehabilitation. These men and women are regular people who are using these licenses to steal money from unexpecting hard working people. Their pitch is usually, ‘can you buy a newspaper to help support the homeless of the community? 100 percent of the process [sic] are given to those who are in need.’ This is in fact a lie. These individuals are pocketing 100% of all monies collected. Some of these individuals are making over a thousand dollars a day via cash another torrent Venmo sales and cash app or square sales which go directly to their personal bank accounts. The people running ground cover know of these but continue to support This behavior because these fraudsters are keeping their organization valid and afloat. Most of these homeless vendors are making anywhere from 5 to 10000 a week. This terrible theft needs to stop immediately. The organization is stealing from the innocent. Please look into this immediately and stop this crime.” I’ll admit, it's not a great Vendor Appreciation Week message. Although it is upsetting to read, I wanted to put it out into the world in order to correct the false accusations and grand misunderstandings, and to open a conversation about Groundcover News. “Groundcover news is parading as a nonprofit foundation in Ann Arbor Michigan established to assist homeless people in the community get their act together and get back into society rehabilitated.” False. Groundcover News is JANUARY 27, 2023 from the DIRECTOR's DESK: clearing up misconceptions a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that was founded in April 2010 as a means to empower low-income persons to make the transitions from homeless to housed, and from jobless to employed. We recognize these people as members of the community (and society) already, not people needing to be brought into society. “These individuals who ground cover is providing vendor licenses are not at all homeless or in need of rehabilitation.” True. Not all Groundcover vendors are experiencing homelessness. The only qualification is self-identified experience with homelessness and poverty. This means vendors can be years out of homelessness, looking to fill in the gaps in their income by selling the paper. Vendors can be actively experiencing homelessness, or, never experienced homelessness at all — just seeking low-barrier employment to avoid homelessness. Successfully selling Groundcover can make it see MISCONCEPTIONS page 10 CREATING OPPORTUNITY AND A VOICE FOR LOW-INCOME PEOPLE WHILE TAKING ACTION TO END HOMELESSNESS AND POVERTY. Groundcover News, a 501(c)(3) organization, was founded in April 2010 as a means to empower lowincome persons to make the transitions from homeless to housed, and from jobless to employed. Vendors purchase each copy of our regular editions of Groundcover News at our office for 50 cents. This money goes towards production costs. Vendors work selling the paper on the street for $2, keeping all income and tips from each sale. Street papers like Groundcover News exist in cities all over the United States, as well as in more than 40 other countries, in an effort to raise awareness of the plight of homeless people and combat the increase in poverty. Our paper is a proud member of the International Network of Street Papers. STAFF Lindsay Calka — publisher Cynthia Price — editor Jim Clark — vendor manager ISSUE CONTRIBUTORS Teresa Basham Elizabeth Bauman Susan Beckett Beverly Boss La Shawn Carlisle Cindy Gere Alexandra Granberg billy hill Mike Jones Cynthia Price Jo Reddit Ken Parks GROUNDCOVER NEWS ADVERTISING RATES Size 1/8 1/6 1/4 1/2 full page Black/White $110.00 $145.00 $200.00 $375.00 $650.00 Color $150.00 $200.00 $265.00 $500.00 $900.00 Dimensions (W x H in inches) 5 X 3 or 2.5 X 6.5 5 X 4 5 X 6.25 5 X 13 or 10.25 X 6.5 10.25 X 13 VOLUNTEERS Jessi Averill Luiza Duarte Caetano Glenn Gates Alexandra Granberg Robert Klingler Mira Simonton-Chao Mary Wisgerhof Max Wisgerhof Claude VanValkenburg Navya Yagalla PROOFREADERS Susan Beckett Elliot Cubit Alexandra Granberg Zachary Dortzbach Jesse Owen Anabel Sicko Sandy Smith Erin Trame CONTACT US Story and photo submissions: submissions@groundcovernews.com Advertising and partnerships: contact@groundcovernews.com Office: 423 S. 4th Ave., Ann Arbor Mon-Sat, 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Phone: 734-263-2098 @groundcover @groundcovernews DONATE, PITCH A STORY + LEARN MORE www.groundcovernews.org linktr.ee/groundcovernews PACKAGE PRICING Three Months/Six Issues: 15% off Six Months/Twelve Issues: 25% off Full Year/Twenty-four Issues: 35% off Only run for two weeks/one issue: 40% off Additional 20% discount for money saving coupons
3 Publizr Home