Real Change News | Goodbye and thanks

August 26, 2009
Vol: 16 No: 38

Community & Editorial

Goodbye and thanks

by: Tara Moss

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Real Change has had the kind of year it may not have survived without the strength of three hardworking, highly intelligent, compassionate and mature interns.

Virginia Weihs ran and implemented a successful program to create a support network and safe space for homeless and low-income women who sold our paper. Inviting a speaker from the Domestic Abuse Women’s Network (DAWN) to talk to our female vendors, she discovered that almost every single female woman in the room was a survivor of domestic violence. Virginia made it apparent to both DAWN and Real Change that more resources for poor women are greatly needed.

Most readers have seen Alex Becker’s Vendor of the Week articles. Alex also films, edits and posts video interviews of the featured vendors on YouTube every week. We’ve all appreciated his commitment to celebrate each vendor as fully as possible. On multiple occasions Alex’s videos have helped friends and families to reconnect with loved ones that have been missing for years or even decades.

Finding places for vendors to sell is one of the main obstacles we currently face. Taylor Cuffaro worked passionately on Initiative 100, and then helped us on our methods for better keeping track of which vendors are selling Real Change, and where. Finding turf for vendors to sell has become simple and efficient thanks to Taylor.

For such great help, the least we can do in return is say a big THANK YOU to Virginia, Alex and Taylor for their year of service, wish them luck in their future endeavors and let them know publicly that they will be greatly missed.

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