SEPTEMBER 19, 2025 FROM THE ARCHIVES GROUNDCOVER NEWS 13 Groundcover visits Toledo Streets Groundcover News had the opportunity to take a road trip and have a workshop with Toledo Streets, another nonprofit street paper, in Toledo, Ohio. I was one of the vendors who attended this workshop along with Jay, Derek, Justen, Lit, Ken, Hal and Snap. The trip was great; the fact that we were able to work fresh territory and in a different environment really really motivated all of us. As soon as we got there they welcomed us with open arms. The vendors and the staff were very heart-warming with the greetings. It was really cool because normally when you travel like this and go visit another organization, people are standoffish, but not in Toledo. At Toledo Streets as soon as we walked in, people greeted us. They rolled out the red carpet for us. The lunch was awesome — something that none of us had ever had before called a “walking taco.” It’s a taco inside of a bag of chips; add everything you want to it, mix it up and eat it either with a fork or with your hands. It was JOE WOODS Groundcover vendor No. 103 really, really cool. During lunch we talked about the organizations and they asked us questions — it was a beautiful thing. We got a chance to meet some top sales people, learn some different sales techniques. One vendor from Toledo, whose name was also Joe, made a “pitch-poem.” When he would make a sale, he would rhyme or rap what he was saying to engage customers. Another vendor would hold a Toledo Streets sign and clip all his papers to the back, flipping in between the sign and the papers. We also learned the different products that they sell; similar to how Groundcover News vendors sell $10 special editions (something they picked up from Groundcover News a while back). Toledo Street vendors sell $10 calendars. The photos in the calendar were actually taken by the vendors themselves. They also have an auction for the artwork and portraits that they make. So, Ann Arbor, don’t be surprised if vendors start selling Groundcover News calendars ... but ours are going to be $20 if I have anything to say about it. Believe it or not, Toledo Streets allowed us to sell their product there. The executive director and the whole staff was awesome; they gave Groundcover vendors free calendars to sell. So you know what? We did. Derek sold five or six, I sold about four, Jay and Justen capitalized on donations which was a beautiful thing. Then they messed around and found out that the buses were free. Anybody who knows me knows I love to shop ... so we caught the bus to the mall and I bought shoes. I want to thank Lindsay, our executive director, Ben, the vendor manager of Toledo Streets, and everybody involved that helped get this going. And, of course the customers, because without you, the customer, we wouldn’t be in existence. Looking forward to more road trips to Seattle, Chicago, Portland and the International Street Paper Summit in Milan, Italy in September. I just want to say first, thank God for opportunities, “new cheese,” and you the customers — because without you there’s no me. Originally published in the April 1, 2022 edition of Groundcover News. Street newspaper conference benefits vendors, volunteers SHELLEY DENEVE Groundcover vendor No. 22 Five representatives from Groundcover attended the 2011 North American Street Newspaper Association (NASNA) conference held in Nashville, Tenn. October 13-16. NASNA is an organization that supports and cultivates effective self-sustaining street newspapers which promote power and opportunity for people living in poverty. NASNA is strongly committed to empowering local street newspapers to develop leadership among poor people, while cultivating journalistic integrity and sustainable street papers. NASNA’s annual conference was hosted by Nashville’s own street newspaper, The Contributor. Have you heard of that street newspaper before? Or maybe you heard of StreetWise from Chicago or Real Change from Seattle. There were approximately 60 registrants and a total of 14 street newspapers from around the United States and Canada attending the conference. There were also two newly established papers and four prospective new newspapers. The conference started with the attendees having the pleasure of meeting and greeting noted journalist, writer and political figure John Seigenthaler for whom the conference location, the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University, is named. He is known as a prominent defender of freedom of expression. He also wrote for The Tennessean and was the founding editorial director of USA Today. The conference consisted of three workshop tracks. Each person chose one of the following tracks per session: • Vendor Track (Vendor Behavior, Vendor Forum) • Editorial Track (Editorial Collaboration, Editorial Basics) • Fundraising Track (Surviving and Thriving in a Small Shop, Finding the Money) Each day there were two to three workshops for each track. Friday evening, conference attendees were invited to the Street Newspaper Awards dinner held at an old bank in downtown Nashville that was converted into a home owned by a fellow named Wan Choi. Speakers included Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, and keynote speaker Lee Stringer. Stringer is the author of two books — "Sleepaway" and "Grand Central Winter" — based on the 12 years he lived homeless and addicted under New York City’s Grand Central Station. Mr. Stringer was a former editor and columnist for the New York street newspaper, Street News. He also has written essays that have appeared in various notable publications such as The Nation, The New York Times and Newsday. After the workshops on Saturday, attendees road a bus to downtown Nashville to tour The Contributor office, housed in a Presbyterian church. At the end of the tour, the annual meeting was held in the sanctuary of the church to elect four new board members. Afterward, attendees were able to go check out the sights and sounds of Nashville. Luckily, the Americana Music Festival was going on and top-flight entertainment of all types was available through the night at different establishments. Originially published in the November 2011 edition of Groundcover.
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