Spring is Here!

Wow, it's been a long time since I posted here. But I figured now was as good a time as any to get back to it. It's difficult because, when the most is going on, there is no time to be blogging, and when I'm I have "down time" there's not as much to blog about. I will try to be more consistent and stay on top of things here.

So I'll start with filling in the big gap since my last post. This past year, StudentsXpress has grown from being printed twice a year to four issues a year (fall, winter, spring and summer), so I really don't have much down time at all. When I'm not inputting and designing the magazine, I'm working on getting funding through advertisers. It's interesting because the stuff I thought I would dread (selling and grant writing) turns out to be very enjoyable. I like working with the neighborhood businesses to sell them ads, and sometimes help them design their ads as well. It's nice to make connections in the community, and I've met some really great people. I just started grant writing. StudentsXpress is part of "Rachel Switall Magazine Group," which just received it's 501c3 status about a month ago. So I'm starting to look for funding through grants. It's a long process, but I've enjoyed digging deep into my mission, and it gives me a chance to reflect on how far I've come, along with focus on where I'm going. The other thing I've been hesitant about is financing. I'm not a money person, but once I sit down and crunch the numbers, it's actually liberating to understand it all. That being said, I am hopefully speaking with a possible accountant today! And the last part of all this is publicity. I'm happy just doing my thing and getting my job done, but I realize that people need to know about it to make it work. So getting the word out has been a learning experience for me as well.

The other week, I was a guest on "The Afternoon Shift" with Rick Kogan on WBEZ. Rick is great. I love his show and how much he loves Chicago really comes across—not only on the radio but in his pieces for the Chicago Tribune. And he's wonderful in person too. I was so happy to be there. And to have one of my board members with me as well—Pastor Corey Brooks. He is a terrific man, doing great things for the community, and I am so happy he wanted to be a board member on StudentsXpress. He's also a great speaker, and everything he said on the radio was just perfect.

This week, our Spring issue (focusing on Earth Day) was delivered to the schools. We now distribute to 26 schools and every Chicago Public Library, for a total circulation of 20,000. Being our Earth Day issue, we included a piece from Sandwich Me In, a quick-service sandwich shop in Lakeview that uses local meats and fresh produce with an emphasis on sustainability (recycle, reuse, reduce) and the education of their guests as to how their food travels from farm to plate. In the spirit of educating their guests, they will be having and Earth Day Event on April 21st. It's a day of fun and learning right in their shop. You can view the day's schedule here. After meeting Justin, the owner of Sandwich Me In, I took my kids there for dinner, and it was delicious. I'm looking forward to the event for the activities, to learn a few things, and most definitely for the food.

There's a ton more going on right now, but I'll save some to post in a bit (this time I promise not to wait almost a year!). I hope you'll check back often—either here or on the web stie. I also post updates on facebook. Spring 2013 Issue