Help us expand our coverage by supporting an intern to chronicle diverse communities

As Horry County grows and landscapes continue to change, it has become increasingly important to cover and critically examine how the shift may potentially impact the county’s diverse communities.

We’ve brought to readers’ attention the nuanced and layered nature of growth along the Highway 90 corridor, raising rent and home prices, drastic changes to political parties, COVID and schools, housing and the history of race relations and those working to preserve it.

I am asking for your help to allow us to continue some of that important work by supporting an intern to solely cover diverse communities throughout the Grand Strand. It’s work that we’ve already done and that you’ve supported.

Some of these stories you may recognize. Mary Norkol, who joined us as a Report For America fellow, has reported aggressively on homelessness and affordable housing. She has continued to pursue those stories as she began a new beat as the publication’s education reporter.

Gerard Albert has told stories about the brutality of the Jim Crow Era, including the racial terror brought on by the Ku Klux Klan in 1950 when they opened fire on white and Black party goers at Charlie’s Place. Archives show the shooting was largely ignored in local publications then, but 70 years later it leaves an indelible mark and Gerard has told a story many did not know.

Chase Karacostas has covered LGBTQ+ communities in a holistic way that focuses on one’s experiences and the issues they face, and we’ll continue to do so. David Weissman has written extensively about the treatment of women who are taken and shuffled from places to be sex trafficked, and its perpetuation by law enforcement.

It was a newsroom effort that dissected 2020 census data that showed Horry County’s growth, economics and the loss of more than half of the population of a historically Black beach community.

Those are just some of the stories that we’ve tackled this year. The intern position we’re asking you to help support is an intentional and direct effort to have a reporter write about diverse and marginalized communities.

Each time we’ve asked for support, we’ve been humbled not only by the donations but the kind notes many of you attach. I share them all with the team, and they are day brighteners.

Here’s how you can help

You can make a donation online here: myrtlebeachonline.com/donate

If you would prefer to send a check, please make it payable to “Journalism Funding Partners” or “JFP” with “The Sun News” on the memo line. If you provide us with an email address, we can send you a tax donation letter confirming your gift.

Checks should be mailed to: McClatchy, PO Box 15779, Sacramento CA, 95852.

Thank you for your support and continued readership.

Justin Madden is the senior editor and general manager of The Sun News.

This story was originally published October 24, 2021 at 5:00 AM.