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My day started at the Christmas Cheer Board as I was dropping off donations from Free Press subscribers who contributed to our annual Miracle on Mountain campaign.
The great thing about leaving the Cheer Board HQ is what you take with you, as it’s hard not to be affected by the infectious cheer that drives that operation.
My lunch hour was spent in the company of those who keep the Free Press running both day and night as we held our building-wide holiday party.
It’s only the second time we’ve gathered as one since the pandemic, so it’s too early to call it a yuletide tradition. But there was no denying how much goodwill comes from breaking bread together.
And tonight, I’m spending a little time with you in this newsletter, the last that will be sent your way before Christmas.
I’ve spent much of the past year reflecting on community, especially since so much of our reporting has focused on the challenges facing so many of our communities.
As someone born and raised in Winnipeg, I know how important community is to our well-being.
As someone who sees the Free Press as essential to the community, I worry about the forces undermining cohesion, adding to isolation, spreading loneliness.
Yes, much of what we are still struggling with today took root during the pandemic. But we’ve also made our own choices — both individually and collectively — that have accelerated atomization at the expense of common purpose.
All too often, we stare at our screens and scroll rather than looking up and connecting with those in our midst.
That’s why the Christmas Cheer Board matters. For more than a century, it’s been part of our muscle memory, finding the will to flex a collective strength to deliver for those in need.
That’s why workplace holiday gatherings matter, acting as the counterbalance to the remote work that has left too many feeling remote.
That’s why this newsletter matters — to me and, I hope, to the more than 100,000 on its subscriber list.
For five years, this note to you, which began as a nightly missive during the pandemic and later morphed into a weekly message, has been a way for me to connect with our readership.
I’ve been able to share stories from our newsroom and from my life, found ways to add many of you to the mix and sparked conversations that made me a better editor.
So, once again, I need to thank you for taking the time to read what I write.
To those of you who are subscribers, thank you for supporting our mission to strengthen our community with information it can trust.
And to all of you, may this season be one where you find comfort and joy in your community of family and friends.
I’m taking Christmas Eve off, but will be back in your inboxes on Dec. 31 with a special New Year’s Eve message.
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