Behind the Headlines

I was at Munson Park today for the balloon release in memory of Nevaeh Buchanan.

The Monroe Evening News had a photographer on scene, as did most of the Toledo and Detroit news media outlets. You’ll see those news reports in the Sunday papers and on the local newscasts this weekend.

In the meantime, these are some of the pictures I took as the people balloons were on standby, waiting for the procession.

As the vehicle approached, the crowd of people lined N. Custer Rd. and released their balloons as the hearse passed by. After the balloons were sent up to the sky, everyone stood at the road in silence.

This was a very family-oriented gathering with lots of young children in the crowd. The park was a great place for the kids to play or have a picnic while the families waited for the balloon release.

This event evolved on the MonroeTalks forums Thursday night so this was arranged on short notice, but word got out out pretty well. I talked with a few people who said they learned about it from reading the newspaper articles Friday and today. It also was listed on various facebook pages and twitter feeds.

I didn’t have any balloons of my own, but one of the MonroeTalkers gave me a bag of balloons to open at the appropriate time. That’s why I don’t have any pictures of balloons flying — I was busy trying to get my balloons to fly to cue.

That’s OK, there were lots of other cameras at the park. You’ll see better photos in the area newspapers tomorrow. There’s also been discussion about the MonroeTalkers who had cameras posting their photos on the web.

– Paula Wethington

A very interesting thing happened on the MonroeTalks forums Thursday night.

The MT members started putting their ideas together for a balloon release in memory of Nevaeh Buchanan, and via the Internet came to a consensus on the details.

The summary can be found here: Balloons for Nevaeh Saturday.

– Paula Wethington

I have a post at Monroe on a Budget about the Nevaeh Buchanan Memorial fund for children’s funerals.

– Paula Wethington

I work on the Community Page section at The Monroe Evening News. That means that at some point, every notice for a fundraiser or benefit in Monroe County, Mich., that is sent to the newspaper crosses my desk.

I put those fundraiser notices on the MonroeTalks calendar, and I schedule them on the Community Page in our print and e-editions.

One of the developments in the Nevaeh Buchanan case is that there are  restaurant benefits taking place to raise money for one of the funds in her name … and the proceeds, at this point, are likely to be used for funeral expenses.

Some of our readers on the monroenews.com comment boards and the MonroeTalks discussion boards have been wondering about the concept of restaurant fundraisers. While most questions involve where the money will be spent, there also have been questions about the concept in general.

After all, isn’t a fundraiser event really free advertising for a restaurant?

Don’t the restaurants make money anyway on the extra traffic from customers who want to support a fundraiser?

The answer is: take it or leave it. There are always other opportunities to contribute to any cause. Feel free to donate directly to a charity or benefit fund if that is your preference. Keep in mind there also are people who don’t like product fundraisers, or mail appeals, or umbrella campaigns. To each their own.

But fundraising via corporate partnerships, in itself, is not unusual. During the past couple of years, I have noticed a significant shift in the local fundraising atmosphere toward such an approach in lieu of direct cash donations from the business.

For example, Kroger and Meijer donate to causes that customers specifically designate on their shopper card accounts.

Many of the local stores or restaurants have, in recent years, decorated their walls with paper feet, paper hearts or paper shamrocks in celebration of customers’ donations to a featured charity.

Many of the free and low-cost community events we take for granted in Monroe, Mich., simply would not happen without corporate support. The annual River Raisin Jazz Festival in downtown Monroe is one such example. On a smaller scale, the State Farm Insurance office in New Boston recently hosted a free child safety event

And The Monroe Evening News really does receive several notices each month about this or that restaurant donating a percentage of its receipts on an off-peak night to a particular charity benefit or cause. Perhaps you heard about Camp Day, which was a charity promotion at Tim Hortons that took place June 3.

Yes, these partnerships and sponsorships do result in free publicity for the businesses, restaurants and corporate partners. I frequently have to tone down the commercial spin from the original press releases when I’m typing up event and fundraiser notices for the newspaper.

But if you live in Monroe, Mich., you know that an atmosphere of service and giving is part of our community personality – whether you are a fifth-grader collecting food pantry donations, whether you are a civic club member who is leading a charity golf outing to raise funds for a scholarship, … or whether you are a restaurant owner or manager that has decided to donate some of your business proceeds to a cause.

– Paula Wethington

Hunting with Mike, one of our BlogsMonroe network partners, has this post about Nevaeh Buchanan: Tears for an Angel.

Click on the Nevaeh Buchanan archives in this blog for links to other local blog posts, the headline archives and other places on the web where you can look up details and discussions about a tragic story in Monroe, Mich., that is getting national attention.

– Paula Wethington

Mom Moments, who is one of our BlogsMonroe network members, has this post about Nevaeh Buchanan situation: Nevaeh has been found, now what will our community do?

– Paula Wethington

Erie Hiker, one of our BlogsMonroe bloggers, has pictures of the River Raisin area on his blog.

He recently wrote an outdoor piece for a local magazine and is detailing what that part of Monroe County, Mich., is like for those who are following the Nevaeh Buchanan case.

– Paula Wethington

I was handling social media duties for The Monroe Evening News as the news broke Thursday evening that her body had been found at the River Raisin in Raisinville Township.

My hunch was that traffic on our newspaper’s web sites would explode if anything significant happened. That is indeed what happened, and the I.T. staff jumped in to help keep the sites running.

Here’s where you can follow up on what happened.

• Local headline archives and breaking news are posted at www.monroenews.com.
• The busiest discussion board has been the Amber Alert thread at monroetalks.com. We had already planned to lock and split that thread into part 2 today because of the high traffic.
• Some of the blogsmonroe.com affiliate bloggers have been chiming in during the past few days, Hunting with Mike is the first to post since she was found.
• Our official twitter is @monroenews.com.

– Paula Wethington

This sign at the corner of Monroe and Front Sts., in downtown Monroe, in front of Monroe Street Grill, has been decorated with yellow balloons the past few days.

– Paula Wethington

I got some updates today, after the Monroe Evening News went to press, during a visit to volunteer headquarters for the Nevaeh Buchanan case.

I posted the details on the MonroeTalks Amber Alert thread, which has literally thousands of views, and here’s a recap:

These beautiful prayer boxes were made by Klaire’s Hand Painted Collectibles.

Visitors to the Charlotte Arms apartment clubhouse, which is family and volunteer headquarters for the Nevaeh Buchanan missing child case, are invited to write down their prayers and put the papers in one of the boxes.

– Paula Wethington

Bridgette Winger created this facebook page for Nevaeh Buchanan.

– Paula Wethington

Some of the BlogsMonroe bloggers have been talking about the Nevaeh Buchanan case.

Here are their posts:

• Erie Hiker: Nevaeh coverage and the changing media.
• Mom Moments: Little girl still missing and Michigan Sex Offender registry.
• Hunting with Mike: Nevaeh Buchanan.
• Monroe on a Budget: Yellow ribbons and shirts on a budget.
• (Update!) News Notes: Nevaeh story highlights new media world.

– Paula Wethington

The monroenews.com online archives have been updated so you can find all the The Monroe Evening News reports on the Nevaeh Buchanan case.

Those who are interested in print copies can purchase them on a first-come, first-served basis at our downtown Monroe office, 20 W. First St., Monroe, Mich.; become a subscriber to our  e-edition where you can read and download the newspaper in pdf format; or if all you want are the front page pdfs you can download them for free here.

– Paula Wethington