ChicoSol will hold its first annual nonprofit news benefit from 7 p.m.-9 p.m. Friday, May 4 at the Chico Peace & Justice Center, and all proceeds will support investigative reporting and student mentorship. Buying tickets in advance here will help us control costs and funnel earnings to our journalism — which, of course, is the point.
The evening will open with live music by Coco Dulce, an act you don’t want to miss. You’ll have a chance to meet and talk with ChicoSol editors and we’ll provide fabulous appetizers. Drinks offered will include water, tea, beer and wine. There will be a silent auction with proceeds going toward professional and student journalism.
At ChicoSol, we believe an independent press is essential to democracy, particularly at the community level. In particular, we value investigative and cross-cultural reporting that other outlets haven’t the resources to pursue. And we believe that this community is ready for and willing to support an outlet that is ad-free and entirely nonprofit.
In recent years, we’ve produced in-depth stories on fatal police shootings and Chico Police Department policies that we thought the public should know about. We’ve partnered with the national newsroom ProPublica in the Documenting Hate project. Now we need your help — to continue with this reporting and to support our student interns, young people like Gabriel Sandoval who won awards for his work at ChicoSol and The Orion.
We hope you’ll support this work by buying tickets now and by sharing your story ideas with us during the event. ChicoSol News Director Dave Waddell will talk about the story behind some of his biggest stories during the past two years. You’ll have a chance to ensure that your current email address is on our story alert list, if you want that.
Kelly Seck and Jae Siqueiros, members of the Chico State Tehama Group Communications team that has organized Soul of Chico, will MC our event.
The Chico Peace & Justice Center at 526 Broadway will host Soul of Chico, and we continue to be grateful to North Valley Community Foundation for some 11 years of support we’ve received while conceiving of and building ChicoSol.
Thanks for believing in the power of information and an informed citizenry. See you tonight at the Chico Peace & Justice Center at 526 Broadway.