Introducing Dispatches: The Changing American Dream

We're excited to inaugurate a new series for our Patch readers: "Dispatches: The Changing American Dream."

Every day, the national media is full of stories about how American families, businesses, and neighbors are adjusting to these trying times. The many changes are dizzying: national debates about unemployment, foreclosures, debt, religion, government and private enterprise all touch on fundamental ways in which we see ourselves and our communities.

At Patch, we want to explore that conversation on a daily basis so we can better understand how our neighbors are confronting the challenges and opportunities that surround us.

We don't think there's one “American Dream,” but rather a multitude of dreams people are working toward. Looking out across nearly 900 Patch sites nationwide, we see businesses holding their breath deciding whether to expand; college graduates returning home because they can't find jobs; and senior citizens bringing boarders into their homes to help pay their bills.

We also see bold new volunteer efforts, inspiring stories of local businesses that succeed because they innovated, and locals who've taken these trying times as a signal to engage more, not less, in their government. New arrivals to our country continue to come in, also hoping for a bit of the American Dream.

At the purely local level, we want to know where we, as Gloucester Township neighbors, fit along these fault lines.

"Dispatches" will be built upon the compelling vignettes and snapshots we unearth across all of our Patch sites.

And, of course, we want your help: Tell us what issues and what stories in Gloucester Township go to the heart of your American Dream.

This is a unique moment in the history of our country, and Patch is uniquely positioned to explore and amplify the stories that capture that moment.

Are you working toward the American Dream? Or has your idea of the American Dream changed? Email any story ideas to Sean McCullen at sean.mccullen@patch.com.