Dear Editor, I just had to take a few minutes to let you and your staff know how thankful my husband Jim and I are for The Resident! With all that is going on at the National, State and Local level with this virus and the protests and the shootings and stressful news in general, The Resident is literally a “life-saver.” A breath of fresh air! A joy to receive!

The articles and pictures lift our spirits as we read about all of the really good things that are going on in our neighborhood as well as the surrounding ones. Believe it or not, you could call The Resident a “stress reducer.” We enjoy the way the paper announces what is going on in peoples lives, in local businesses and finding where we can find different kinds of help if we need it.

One of our good, friends who was considering moving to Jacksonville, asked us some questions about the community. We sent her a copy of The Resident. Not only was she able to get a feel of community life in San Marco and Riverside, but was able to check out Realtors who sold homes in the areas she was interested in.

We have been long time fans of The Resident. We have enjoyed reading about our neighbors, what is happening in our local schools and what kinds of organizations are adding to our quality of life here.

Right now though, The Resident gives us hope that good things can happen even in a pandemic! The things we read in THE RESIDENT show us that no matter what, people will keep doing good things to help their community!

Our deep appreciation to your staff.

To the Publisher of the Resident Community News:
I’d like to thank The Resident Community News for being a big champion and supporter of Clara White Mission and its services during the 26 years I’ve been at the mission. I especially appreciate the coverage you have given us during this time of COVID-19. It’s been very hard to share the needs and challenges of the Clara White Mission during this crisis, and it is our hope that we can continue to serve our breakfasts-to-go during this time.Thanks to the article by Marcia Hodgson that ran in the April edition of The Resident News and was shared with your readers throughout Jacksonville’s historic communities, the Clara White Mission was able to get a gift from the Jaguars, an abundance of food from First Watch, in addition to furniture from the Haskell Company, which it can offer its client base once we are open again. Because of the support of Resident News readers, we will be able to offer several more breakfasts at this time. Each day, we feed anywhere from 295 to 320 people, and those individuals count on us for a hot meal.Also, the article talked about the front-line staff that is still serving the homeless, and through the Resident’s coverage we were able to get some more volunteers to help at the mission. Most of the volunteers we have are usually seniors, but because of the article, we were able to get some younger volunteers to come, and this will enable us to continue our 116-year service to the community.I salute the Resident News for keeping our community in touch by printing good and challenging articles that assist organizations and nonprofits like the Clara White Mission, so that we can continue to do all the good that we can, in all the ways that we can, to all the people we can, while we can.I also salute the Resident News for keeping the community abreast of the many organizations that continue to do good in our community. I just want to say that I really, really appreciate that your staff are hands on in downtown and all around. I appreciate that you take the initiative to reach outside of your comfort zone, and I love that you are willing to cover topics that are sensitive and relatable. Not only does your paper talk about the good things and the successful things, but you also talk about the challenges with a twist, and I really appreciate that because your paper really is a game-changer in the community.

Most sincerely,

In these troubled times when the COVID-19 pandemic is keeping us distant from our family and friends, I have found The Resident Community News to be an important way for me to learn about what is going on in our city.

In addition to The Resident, Circles Magazine is really grand. The magazine, which highlights philanthropic endeavors within Northeast Florida, also is a way of keeping up with friends and organizations. Plus, the magazines are lovely, keepsake pieces of exceptional quality.

But I especially love The Resident because as a newspaper, it does so much to connect people, especially during this difficult time of estrangement.  To my knowledge, there is not another piece of print journalism that connects people in our city the way The Resident does.  We live in Atlantic Beach, and because I love the paper so much, I have it sent to our home at the beach. It lets me know what is going on in town and in San Marco. I read about what people, children and adults, are thinking and doing. It shares different opinions and provides a lot of local history. The Resident, through the vision and commitment of its publishers, Seth and Pamela Williams, is essential to this community.

I would like to take this opportunity to express how much we enjoy receiving The Resident magazine regularly to our house. We consider it an important source of news for the neighborhood. That neighborhood includes both Riverside/Avondale and Ortega. I am especially referring to news about activities of the city and businesses. We also enjoy the articles in The Resident about the people of the neighborhood. My mother and father were born here, in Riverside, and my father’s mother was born and grew up on Adams Street downtown.  And I would like also to mention that the advertisements and notices in The Resident are very important to us. We are firm believers in shopping locally and patronizing neighborhood businesses. The Resident is the easiest and best way to find out what is available nearby.

I just wanted you to know how much my husband and I enjoy receiving The Resident each month. This publication does such a wonderful job covering all the happenings in San Marco. Your reporting is always fair and balanced on serious issues; yet it’s also refreshing to read about local activities and the “fun factor” in our unique neighborhood.  In these times of isolation and uncertainty, we can always look forward to the latest issue of The Resident to keep us well informed on local events and important matters.  Keep up the good work – I can honestly say, The Resident is one of the essential services we rely on.