Letter from the Editor

Jim Jakubek


Dear Reach Out readers,
               
                    Welcome, I hope you all had a very nice Holiday season and a good New Year. The January '07 issue of Reach Out is now online. As you may have noticed there was no September (fall) issue. We apologize for that. It was due to several factors, all of which are fine now and we're glad to be back.

Please be sure and check out this issue. It's chock-full of great articles. We would like to thank the wonderful authors for their submissions. Remember if you have an article or story you'd like to submit you can contact me at: Jim@reachoutmag.com for more information.

Now for a shameless plug!! We need your help. Remember we are a nonprofit organization and all our online features are FREE. But we need your help to continue and grow. We rely on cash donations, grants and fundraisers, but we also offer several ways for you to help without spending a penny.

First, we have recently joined forces with Google & are proud to display Google Adwords on the site. You can find them in our Net Resources area. You can find them at the bottom of the main page and at the top of other pages. By clicking and visiting one of their websites, Reach Out receives a portion of the revenue. PLEASE CLICK!!!!!!!!! And as often as you can. But please don't click falsely, such as clicking on the same link repeatedly. Sure this will increase Reach Out's revenue, but only temporarily. Google reviews all the clicks and if they see activity which they feel maybe be fraud, not only will they remove us from the program, but we will lose all revenue. So please enjoy, help Reach Out & click wisely!!!!

Our second program is called GoodSearch. GoodSearch is a search engine powered by Yahoo. When you search using GoodSearch Reach Out receives a portion of the revenue. There is nothing to join and again the service is FREE. Just go to GoodSearch.com, in the box below the phrase "Who do you GoodSearch for?", enter Reach Out ABILITIES Services, and click "verify", it should display Reach Out's name with the city and state. Now you can enter your search words and click on "search the web". And you're done. You get great "Yahoo' powered results and Reach Out earns revenue. How easy was that!!!!!!!!

And the final revenue generating program is iGive.com. If you're an Internet shopper like me, this is a great place to start your next online shopping trip. iGive is an Online Mall with several hundred name brand stores. Each time you make a purchase through iGive, Reach Out earns a percentage. You pay no more for your items than you normally would by going to the merchant directly and you could even receive exclusive iGive coupons. To join iGive.com, simply enter your email address on the main page, then click "Join Now", on te next page "Find a cause to Support", enter Reach Out ABILITIES, on the next page, Reach Out should be the top "cause" listed, click on the Reach Out link. This will take you to the "Member Information" page. Fill out the information requested. In the box that reads "Your tax deduction preferences, check either of the following boxes "I want to take a tax deduction for my shopping donations" or "I wish to donate anonymously and not take a deduction" Now you're ready to shop and support Reach Out.

I can't emphasize enough the importance of your participation in Reach Out. Here are 3 easy ways to help Reach Out without it costing you anything (except for your purchase at iGive.com). WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!! We cannot continue to offer this FREE service without any revenue. I Know of NO Business that has a ZERO operating budget. Sure, you've all made suggestions on how to improve Reach Out (and they're all great), but now we need you to step up to the plate and "Put your money where your mouth is", so to speak.

Wouldn't it be great to have a website that was easier to navigate? Reach Out is supposed to be a website for people with disABILITIES, but even I know it lacks accessibility. This isn't intentional. It is due to lack of web designing experience and a lack of a webmaster/webmistress. So, the obvious question is : "Why don't you hire someone" Well the (maybe not so) obvious answer is "Because we can't afford it".

Now if you still prefer simply making a cash donation, we will most graciously accept. You can donate through PayPal.com and send your donation to reachout@reachoutmag.com. No amount is too big or small.

Also please check back often. We will be offering several fundraisers throughout the year and will find info posted on Reach Out as they are available.

Best regards,

Jim
PLEASE SUPPORT Reach Out!!!!!!!!!!



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