We need your support to continue covering housing and homelessness in Thurston County
Last week we launched a new fundraising campaign to support Report for America fellow Brandon Block’s coverage of the issue you’ve consistently told us is of critical importance to you as a resident of Thurston County: housing affordability and homelessness, and the intersection between the two.
This will be our fourth outreach for community support since Brandon began working at The Olympian in June 2020, and your support has only grown as the catalog of Brandon’s work has grown. Last spring alone, we raised about $15,000 to support Brandon’s position. Thank you so much for that support.
Because of your support, Olympian readers have learned how even Washington’s higher-than-average minimum wage isn’t keeping up with increasing rent, how the number of accessory dwelling units (or ADUs) have grown despite permitting requirements that make many illegal, and how some efforts to provide sites and support to the area’s homeless have succeeded and some have failed.
The support we get from Report for America for Brandon’s position requires a community match, so we again are asking for your help. As Thurston County and its cities struggle to find ways to address homelessness and skyrocketing housing prices, we need him here, explaining both the issues and the solutions.
Our new fundraising effort is specifically dedicated to Brandon’s position. Any additional money raised beyond the match will be directed to support Report for America fellow Natasha Brennan, who just began covering Washington’s indigenous communities for all four of McClatchy’s news operations in the state: The Olympian, The News Tribune in Tacoma, The Bellingham Herald, and the Tri-City Herald.
From now through the end of the year, we are hoping to raise at least another $15,000, once again in the form of tax-deductible donations made through the Journalism Funding Partners. If you made a donation before, we are truly grateful and hope you will once again. If you have not yet donated, we hope you will consider doing so now. It’s quick and easy at theolympian.com/donate.
If you prefer to send a check, you can do that too. Please make checks payable to “Journalism Funding Partners” or “JFP.” The Olympian must be included in the memo line, and include your email address so we can send you an acknowledgment email. Mail the check to McClatchy, 1601 Alhambra Blvd, Suite 100, Sacramento, CA 95816.
If you have any problems or questions, email me at ddemarest@theolympian.
This is only one of the creative ways we’re working to sustain local journalism and fulfill our public service mission of providing you with the news and information that directly affects your life. We will continue to explore opportunities like these and beyond as we find new ways to grow again after years of getting smaller.
Thank you as always for your support.
Welcome our new reporter
Speaking of getting bigger, we recently hired a new full-time reporter, Ty Vinson.
Ty is from Martinsville, Indiana, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism at Indiana University. He has worked as an intern at the Northwest Indiana Times, the Oregonian in Portland and the Arizona Republic in Phoenix as a Pulliam Fellow.
Ty will primarily cover the city of Olympia, but, like all our staff reporters, he will be a multi-tasker, covering crime and breaking news as well as keeping tabs on the city of Tumwater and school district news.
Please welcome Ty. You can send news tips and greetings to tvinson@theolympian.com.
This story was originally published October 24, 2021 at 5:00 AM.