This moment is like nothing we’ve ever experienced. Yet through all the anxiety and fear we are feeling, we’re seeing bravery, kindness, compassion and innovation in abundance.  From the courageous work of the health care workers and first responders to the innovation and urgency from business leaders retooling to lend a hand producing needed personal protective equipment, Mainers are there for each other.

At the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel, we’re here to tell all of these incredible stories.  We’ve got you covered with the latest data on active cases and outbreaks, and we probe deeper to make sure you’re informed and protected. And along with all of you, we mourn the Mainers lost to this terrible disease, and send our best wishes to those who have fallen ill.

We’ve heard from many of you and we appreciate the thanks and encouragement we’ve received during this challenging time. But as we keep reporting the news in the face of a dramatic loss of advertising revenue, we need to ask for more.

If you believe our journalism is a service worth preserving, we need your support.  There are ways you can help:

• Buy a subscription.

• If you already subscribe, buy a subscription as a gift for someone else who appreciates the role that independent journalism plays in keeping our community informed.

• Make a donation. Through our membership in the Local Media Association, we are now able to accept donations through its 501(c)(3) foundation. The donation is tax-deductible and will be used to support our 300+ employees and our relentless pursuit of the truth.

To buy a subscription or make a donation, visit centralmaine.com/support.

You know our work. Whether it’s holding governments such as the Waterville City Council accountable when they don’t provide the public the access it deserves, or giving you exclusive behind-the-scenes reporting from a local coronavirus screening site and incident command center, our reporters don’t stop until the truth is uncovered and there’s transparency for the public good.

Every company leader praises their team, but honestly, our team is remarkable. Indefatigable.

I’m at a loss for words to accurately describe the commitment felt by every member of our staff as we continue to publish our newspapers and websites. Every employee understands how vital it is to serve our readers with the latest news impacting our health, our economy and our communities.

In addition to the investigative efforts and coverage of breaking news, we also bring you stories of hope and compassion like the expansion of food bank programs and distribution of meals for students along bus routes amid school closures. Please read the work from our sports reporters, who aren’t covering games but instead reporting on both coronavirus-related stories as well as creative sports features such as “Remember When” and “Catching Up With.”

While most of us are working from home, we are deeply appreciative of our colleagues who are out in the field, including reporters and photographers, our colleagues in the pressroom and production facility, our finance team in the office processing payments, and our circulation team running our delivery logistics.

Our heart aches for many of our loyal advertisers whose businesses are dark. We look forward to the day when they return, and we’ll be there to mobilize our readership to support all of you. We pledge to eat, drink, stay, shop and get badly needed haircuts as soon as it’s safe to do so.

We’ve been uplifted by the thanks we’ve received from so many of you. Appreciation of our work been has validated through the growth in readership specifically through digital subscriptions. To our home delivery customers, we pledge to continue to deliver your newspaper while following our stringent safety protocols.

Maine has endured wars, economic depression and now a pandemic. For more than a century, the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel have been there to cover it all. With your support, we’ll continue to be there — for you and for Maine.

Lisa DeSisto is publisher of the Kennebec Journal, Morning Sentinel and Central Maine Sunday.

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