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Questions? Problems?
Send an email directly to info@hwcsc.org
Help resurrect the CSC website and get the Update (newsletter) back in circulation!
There are two ways to help:
The first is to donate money via PayPal or use the link to Amazon.com which will help defray expenses.
Secondly, you can volunteer some time. Just an hour or two a week would get the Update back in service.
Click through to Amazon.com. Once you're there, it's the same shopping experience for you and CSC gets a bit of money to help cover our costs. Give it a try!
New! Make a donation to support CSC using PayPal. It's fast, free, and secure!
If you would like to discuss a donation, or pay by check, please contact Tom Rogers at tomrogers@hwcsc.org.
Please Note: CSC is not a registered non-profit organization, so your donation would not be tax deductible.
Because of the extensive coverage and guidance provided in the spring when we have Town Meetings and Local Elections
Did you get a chance to see the debate that CSC sponsored between Dave Carey and John Hamilton, candidates for a vacant seat on the Hamilton Board of Selectmen?
Because of the links you find in the Sports section. Did you forget what the website address was for your son's lacrosse team? Were you wondering who to contact regarding next falls Cheerleading program? It's all there.
Because the CSC website is the only place where you can find condensed Calendars for the Town of Hamilton, Town of Wenham, Our Library and the Regional School District. Just click on any event and you are taken to the official calendars for each entity,
Because the many things that you can find at the website
~ You should support CSC because of all the potential
that the new website holds for our community ~
A new Community Events Calendar which will focus on events planned by our non profit and community service organizations.
Sections of the website available for our non profit and community service organizations to announce events and communicate with the public.
Improved site design - See the the new website (it's only 50% done and there's no content yet)
The reformulation of the CSC website will require money for hosting fees and software, in addition to expenses that I already cover such as domain name registration fees, mailing list provider costs, etc. These costs are nothing compared to the amount of labor expended over the last 43 months.
Some History:
CSC got its start after our community suffered through the complicated and acrimonious school budget process during the spring and summer of 2003. In September 2003, Wenham resident Judene Shelley and I organized a meeting of concerned citizens. Within a short period of time several dozen Hamilton and Wenham residents joined us to form a new group
called Citizens for a Strong Community (CSC). Our goal was very simple, to strengthen our community by gathering and disseminating information on important community issues. We organized four major projects:
The Update - This was the tool to get the information out to the community. Starting in September 2003, I have been publishing the Update almost every week. Currently, there are about 440 people on the email list. Take a trip through time; view Updates going back to September '04,
The Observer Group - More than 30 CSC volunteers took turns attending selectmen’s meetings and school committee meetings, where they took notes that were distributed in our weekly Updates. (see our notes at the downloads page). This was a huge amount of work, and by June of 2004 we just couldn't keep up with it any more.
Our Website - I started the website with the help of Hamilton resident Doug Lindland who agreed to host the site on his server. Doug provided a copy of Microsoft FrontPage software, which I learned to use and soon we had a website up and running. The site has evolved since 2003, but has always included the latest copy of the Update on the home page. There are well over 100 pages of useful information if you are willing to dig in a bit.
The School Comparison Study – CSC’s School Comparison Committee conducted two separate studies:
School District and Town Comparison Study based on Public Data - This study made use of existing published data available from the State Department of Revenue and Department of Education. You can view the results at the CSC website.
The School District Comparison Study - We launched this study early in 2004 by recruiting volunteers in approximately 25 school districts to cooperate with us in gathering pertinent data about each district. Five extensive surveys were distributed that focused on data not available from public sources including Elementary Schools, Middle Schools, High Schools, School Districts and Municipal Finances. The data collection effort took longer than we anticipated, and we worked diligently to follow-up with all schools and towns invited to participate and encouraged them to submit their data. As a result, we received responses from approximately fourteen school districts and municipalities. This data is now contained in a series of Excel spreadsheets that are available to anyone interested.
The royal "we":
In time, there were many new committees created by the towns and schools that fostered communication and understanding among residents of Hamilton and Wenham. The sense of urgency dissipated, and my fellow CSC volunteers found other projects to work on. All along, I've used the word "we" to represent all the people involved with CSC, but over a period of time it boiled down to just "me". I'm carrying the torch for the Update and the CSC website because I feel there is a need for both. Many people have written expressing their appreciation for me doing so.
In closing:
I'm willing to continue to volunteer my time to create and distribute the Update and maintain the CSC website, but would appreciate some financial assistance from those that benefit from my efforts. There are two ways you can support CSC: Donate via PayPal and by shopping at Amazon.com!
PayPal is easy to use. Donate any amount that you wish; even $5.00 would go a long way, and it shows that you care.
Shop at Amazon.com - It's simple, just click through via the link above; it won't cost you a penny more than you would spend otherwise. CSC will benefit by receiving a small fee from Amazon.
If you would like to donate by check, please contact me directly. info @ hwcsc.org
