JULY 25, 2025 GROUNDCOVER15 Happy 15th Anniversary Groundcover News! I want to say Happy 15th Anniversary to Groundcover News, Thank you for publishing all the things that you do. It has and is a vessel for people to express parts of their life stories, Also different opinions, perspectives, and points of views. Thanks for providing self-employment where we can work where we choose. Thank you, and Happy 15th Anniversary again, Groundcover News! LA SHAWN COURTWRIGHT Groundcover vendor No. 56 A few things you might not know about Groundcover News You might not know that Groundcover News has a podcast! “Groundcover Speaks” is a blind and print disabled accessible audio archive of Groundcover News. Groundcover Speaks is produced through a collaboration with 5th Avenue Studios, located at the Downtown Ann Arbor Library and Groundcover News to bring the voices of Groundcover News vendors to more community members, and can be heard on the Ann Arbor District Library’s website or on Spotify. To listen to your favorite vendor articles, go to “Groundcover Speaks.” Groundcover also has a newly updated website, groundcovernews. org, where you can learn more about Groundcover. You can keep up with upcoming Groundcover events, read past Groundcover issues in the archive section and more! Do you know that Groundcover is a part of a street newspaper syndicate called International Network of Street Papers? 92 street papers in 35 countries, published in 25 languages, make up their network. So, ARCHIVE from last page We know we are best suited to act in the present and plan for the future if we understand our past. We hope this column serves to celebrate the many amazing voices, experiences, and ideas in our community and better preserves the diversity of thought and expression that has contributed to social change locally for 15 years. Start small, think big The first installment of this column begins with Susan Beckett’s first article, printed in the first edition of Groundcover News, the July / August 2010 edition. If you don’t • Groundcover News comes out with a new issue every other Friday. • Groundcover vendors pay fifty cents for every copy and resell the newspaper for two dollars making a minimum of $1.50 profit. • Groundcover vendors get paid MIKE JONES Groundcover vendor No. 113 when traveling throughout the United States or abroad, be on the lookout for street newspapers. INSP facts: • 3.2 million readers worldwide; • 904 volunteers worldwide supporting our network; • Over 390,000 people in poverty have been supported since the first street paper was published in 1989; • 5,730 vendors sell street papers at any one time; • 13.15 million street papers were sold across the world in 2021; • 1,350 towns and cities had a street paper presence in 2021. Groundcover News facts: for published writings and photo submissions, and for reciting their article for the Groundcover Speaks podcast. • Those who have experienced homelessness can write and send photos to Groundcover, and if published, they also receive money for their work. • Individuals, organizations and businesses can advertise with Groundcover News • Groundcover hosts public events such as poetry and Open Mic live performances • Anyone can volunteer at Groundcover News • Groundcover News is celebrating 15 years of bringing awareness to homelessness, poverty and social justice issues, from 2010-2025. Celebrate with us, all year long! know already, Beckett is our founder and fierce publisher emeritus. Her essay recounts the street newspaper sale in Seattle that sparked the idea for Groundcover News; it explains the philosophy behind the unique economic model of the street newspaper: microentrepreneurship. (Little did we know, 15 years later, we would still be collaborating with our sister street paper, Real Change!) A hand-up, not a hand-out — an idea shared by the other members of the International Network of Street Newspapers and an idea that has always shaped our policies and practices. This foundational philosophy draws a line between Groundcover News and social service agencies. Although we have always partnered with these organizations in Washtenaw County, our mission is focused on economic opportunity and social change through written word and relationships. For Groundcover, this looks like pointing resources towards hosting workshops and trainings on financial literacy, street sales, starting a business or opening a bank account, rather than casework staff or expanding donation services. Even better when this support is facilitated by peers. When we invest in the newspaper, we do so to equip Groundcover vendors to be a part of that growth. Read more on page 8 about the origin story, and look out for "From the archives" in future editions. GROUNDCOVER NEWS 7
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