Donors play an important role in helping bring Access Press to readers every month. As the newspaper staff and board cope with a fiscal crisis, some of our longtime readers and contributors are weighing in.Go here find donation information. Won’t you join our supporters?
Here are a few of their stories:
A lasting effect Charlie Smith was right about a lot of things. He was right when he said in the first sentence of his first editorial for Access Press that it was going to be “one of the most important papers to become available to the people of Minnesota.” He hoped Access Press would help lawmakers understand “the day-to-day effect” their actions have had and would have on people with disabilities. To his readers, Charlie said “My greatest hope is that Access Press will be of value to you as a source of information. I also hope it will stimulate readers to stand up for their rights and those of others.” For 28 years Access Press has done just that, but a substantial and ongoing increase in private support is essential if that effort is to continue.
I spent an afternoon looking through issues of Access Press I have saved–some from the 1990s, most of them from the past decade. The paper does indeed provide a great deal of information–a summary of legislative issues before and after each session, lengthy articles on voting rights, regular updates on the state’s Olmsted plan, stories about getting to the Green Line, and the status of skyway access–solid information, well presented. Both Charlie’s and Tim Benjamin’s editorials documented the need for and urged legislative action to increase wages for PCAs and other direct service staff. Access Press told about people–self-advocates who spoke to their legislators or testified before committees, persons honored by organizations, and the winners of the annual Charlie Smith award. Their stories challenged readers to emulate these men and women. Likewise, the In Memoriam pages described the rich lives of persons with disabilities and told of others who were advocates, teachers, or caregivers. Access Press has been what
Charlie hoped it would be–a valuable source of information and stimulation.
The financial pressures facing Access Press are real, but Charlie was right–this excellent newspaper is important for persons with disabilities, for their families, and for the state itself. Please, become a regular supporter of Access Press and urge your family, friends, and employers to do so too. Access Press is far too important to lose.
-Luther Granquist, longtime newspaper contributor and Minnesota Disability Law Center (retired)
We rely greatly on Access Press
“We rely greatly on Access Press. It is Minnesota’s disability community news source. Now more than ever Access Press needs our financial support. Please support Access Press with a financial donation, so that people with disabilities and the community at-large will continue to have Access Press.
A free press is part of the important ingredient needed for democracy to thrive. Access Press plays this important role as a free press and serves as a voice for the voiceless in assuring that people with disabilities are informing one another and the greater community about the issues of the day and the life examples and stories that exemplify the universal journey about the inalienable rights to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness for individuals with disabilities in Minnesota.”
-Jesse Bethke Gomez, MMA Executive Director, Metropolitan Center for Independent Living
A treasured source of news
Access Press is a treasured source of disability related news, politics, editorials, issues, opinions, history, accessible entertainment and humor. Access Press is Minnesota’s essential on-line and in print link connecting persons with disabilities and supporters to opportunities to participate in change that directly affects their lives. Its founder, Charlie Smith, was a firm believer in “knowledge is power” and in my experience, empowering the disability community is its most significant and lasting impact. We all benefit!
I support this paper because of its powerful role in contributing to positive change for persons with disabilities.
Onward!
-Anne Henry, Minnesota Disability Law Center (retired)
Depend on Access Press
Over the past 25 years, I have come to depend on Access Press for the latest news about the disability community. The related public policy issues being discussed at the Minnesota Legislature are what interest me the most. Sometimes the news is good. Other times, the news is bad, but critically important information to have.
Access Press is also a source where I can read about people in the disability community and their unique experiences. The paper’s quarterly directory is an easy to read and helpful listing of services available for people with disabilities. The ads are also informative.
People from around the country marvel that this community has a newspaper dedicated to issues debated by and for people with disabilities. Access Press is truly a unique and valuable resource!
-Jeff Bangsberg
