In this section:
What is Hello, West Chester
About Me
Principles of Sharing
How to Advertise
Contact Me
What is this?
Hello, West Chester is a website dedicated to sharing news, events, and stories about the people, places, and things that make the West Chester community what it is – the good, the bad, and the parking. Every Friday I summarize these stories in the West Chester Weekly Roundup. A newsletter-style recap of the things that happened and the events we are looking forward to. Written with a conversational tone, it’s an easy way to stay informed on all that is going on in the West Chester area – which is probably way more than you know. Trust me, it’s a scary lot.
If that sounds good to you, subscribe here. You’ll get an email update each Friday with the week’s news, places to go, and new foods to try. If you are not sure feel free to look around. Go to the homepage and scroll down. I rarely repeat a story so feel free to read through back issues for new information.
About me:
Hi, I’m Cara, editor, writer, and overall cruise director here at Hello, West Chester. Welcome!
I’m not originally from here so you may think it odd I decided to start a website dedicated to West Chester. I grew up in Indiana. Went to college there (go Hoosiers!). Grabbed a journalism degree and was on my way to NYC to pursue my dream of working in the publishing industry but I didn’t quite make it…
Instead, I stopped in Eastern PA and fell in love with the place (and a guy) and decided to put down roots. Today, I have three kids, a cat and a husband. We live in the borough right near Everhart Park. People tell us all the time we got lucky to nab the location we did — and we couldn’t agree more.
This website is my attempt to keep up with everything that’s going on around town. (Wish me luck.) Leave comments, share gossip – correct me – or just follow along. Either way I’m glad you’re here.
If you want to reach out directly, you can reach me at Cara@hellowestchesterpa.com.
Some principles of sharing:
Curious what makes it in the posts and what doesn’t? These are the basic principles I follow.
- All stories will be (hyper) local. If the story is in some way about West Chester or one of its residents, it is fair game for a post or a comment. If there is no West Chester connection, it is a very steep climb to get a mention.
- All stories will be based on credible sources. Or clearly stated as rumor. I will do my best to locate original sources but sometimes rumors, especially those that go viral on social media, become part of our cultural fabric and should be shared so at the very least you are aware. And sometimes rumors are fun, like the speculation a Chic-Fil-A or Trader Joe’s is coming to every new or open building in the greater West Chester area. (Maybe?)
- Source material, when available, will be linked for your independent verification. If you notice source material missing, send me a note and I will be happy to add it. Any given week, I have dozens or more tabs open. Despite my best intentions, I know there are times I missed a link or two.
- Fact and opinion will be clearly delineated. Don’t worry, for those of you who like my snarky comments, I will continue to share my opinions on certain topics but I will do my best to make it clear where opinion has been inserted and I will always provide links to the source materials so you can review and come to your own conclusions. Feel free to offer a respectful counterpoint in the comments section. I am happy to share an alternate interpretation.
- Sponsored posts will be clearly marked. To help grow and support all these efforts I have begun accepting sponsored posts as well as other revenue options. I write all the posts sponsored or otherwise. However, on sponsored posts, I do let the sponsor review the copy before it is posted. So look for these to be more informational and less hard-hitting. I am also looking into sponsored series – look for one coming up from community banking partner Benchmark Credit Union. Benchmark will be underwriting the whole series on innovative West Chester entrepreneurs. Thanks to their generous support, these posts will be completely independent. No subject review of these posts. (Yay!)
- Events are more the merrier. I am happy to include your events in the events calendar. (Just send me an email with the details.) In addition, selected events are highlighted each week these are based on general appeal. There may in the future be sponsored events but, see above.
Advertise:
If you would like to have your business or event featured in custom content on the website or in a West Chester Weekly Roundup, I would be happy to discuss ideas. You can reach me at Cara@hellowestchesterpa.com.
Contact Me:
Have a question, comment or just want to chat? I love the (respectful) feedback! Please don’t hesitate to reach out. My email is Cara@hellowestchesterpa.com.