Without additional community support, we will be discontinuing the paper version of the Newsletter after the October 2001 issue. The reason for discontinuing the paper version is that we have other modes of communication (phone information line and web page) that are more cost effective. A typical two-sided newsletter costs approximately $35 to copy and requires 3-4 volunteer hours to distribute in our neighborhood. The phone information line and the web page are less expensive to maintain for a year than four newsletters, allow for more frequent updates, and provide a method for interactive communication. In addition, the paper newsletter is often not seen by the intended audience as it is blown away, mixed with other flyers, or removed from the door without everyone seeing it.

The support needed to continue the paper newsletter would be mostly in the form of volunteers to help with newsletter distribution, but could also be in dollars. An alternative that we may consider would be mailing the newsletter directly to those who personally request it, especially when they do not have access to the web. The cost per person per mailing would be approximately 75 cents.

What is your opinion?