Join your neighbors in supporting local news that matters

EDITOR'S NOTE: Make a contribution today and support local news that matters.

Mahoning Matters is committed to bringing people together to talk about the issues that matter most to our Valley. For the past 14 months, that issue has been dominated by one story with many angles: COVID-19.

The pandemic and the recovery are among the most important public interest stories of this moment. Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, we've worked to bring our community the news and information it needs to stay safe — and find answers to your questions.

Now, as we continue to monitor COVID-19 and look to emerge from the pandemic, Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley deserve meaningful discussions as well as reliable, local journalism more than ever.

It's this kind of community-focused journalism that we know matters because it's more than just bringing you headlines — it's also having regular conversations and letting you ask some of the questions. Thousands of you have joined our virtual online discussions focused on everything from racism to getting kids back to school. Our next event on May 12 will look at the Valley as it emerges from the pandemic.

Mahoning Matters launched with start-up funds from Google, and we have shown incredible growth in the past 18 months. In fact, more people than ever are coming to Mahoning Matters each day to get their news. We plan to grow more in 2021, but we know that we'll need the support of readers like you.

There is a cost to delivering Mahoning Matters to you. We hope that you will consider making a one-time or monthly contribution in support of the quality community journalism that Mahoning Matters delivers every day.

Your support will help us continue to help make sense of the important local issues in the Valley, bring you a wide array of voices and perspectives, and build a strong foundation for independent, local journalism.

The conclusion to a Knight Foundation report, "Healthy Local News & Information Ecosystems," released in early March, said it best: "The future of Mahoning Matters is of critical importance for the Youngstown ecosystem as a whole." Please join us and help to continue this mission far into the future.

Thank you, on behalf of the Mahoning Matters team.

This story was originally published May 6, 2021 at 4:34 PM with the headline "Join your neighbors in supporting local news that matters."