Become Part of the HIP Community!
If you read our special 300th supplement, you’ll know just how much work goes into producing the paper, and that it is (almost) all done by volunteers. But there’s no point in producing a community newspaper if it doesn’t get picked up and read – which is why it’s also crucial to make sure that the paper gets widely distributed.
Mark Plummer of Salon cheese and wine deli receives his copies of HIP
Distribution, like every other job on the paper, is volunteer-led. When the paper comes out fortnightly on a Thursday or Friday, volunteers collect it in bundles and set off to deliver to more than 150 outlets from Ore to West St Leonards, ranging from big supermarkets to small independent retailers and community venues. A car is helpful for some areas, but others are easily covered on foot.
Ann Spencer helps deliver the paper near where she lives in Central St Leonards, on and around King’s Road, and says she would thoroughly recommend it to others. “I enjoy doing my bit and contributing to my local community paper,” she says. “Just doing a small run of streets means I can easily fit it into my day, and people are always pleased to see me when I bring them the paper. Plus it helps keep me fit – when I’m doing it I feel like Jean Seberg in Breathless!”
If you think you might enjoy delivering the paper to venues near you, drop us a line at [email protected] – or about anything else you’d like to see in the Community Section.
As Ann says: “A local newspaper is the beating heart of the community, and this is a great way of supporting it. Ordinary people together can do fantastic things!”
Find a list of where we currently deliver at hastingsindependentpress.co.uk/where-can-i-find-a-copy.
We hope you have enjoyed reading this article. The future of our volunteer led, non-profit publication would be far more secure with the aid of a small donation. You can also support local journalism by becoming a friend of HIP. It only takes a minute and we would be very grateful.
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