Dear members,

Happy New Year & Millennium!!!!! Here we are another Year. I don’t know about you, but it was hard getting used to writing 2,000 on my checks. It sure has been different. I remember growing up, I never thought I’d see 2,000. And with all the futuristic sci-fi of the 60’s & 70’s. I’d thought we’d all be driving space vehicles by now..haha Well, we sure have come along way though, the Internet for one has been one of the biggest technological breakthrough’s ever. I for one, am very grateful for the Internet, and look forward to it’s continued growth

The Internet opens a whole new world especially for people with disABILITIES. With the big increase of on-line merchants, the Internet is more than just a place to meet people. It has also become a life line for people, such as those with disABILITIES who may not be able to get out. You can shop for EVERYTHING on-line, some say too many things. But you can order clothes, prescriptions, groceries, computer items and more, without ever leaving you home, or even your computer. I think there will be more and more options available in time.

The long awaited millennium issue of Reach Out Magazine is now on-line. Reach Out has an new Interactive column titled “What do You think?” Each issue we will present an article of concern to people with disABILITIES, and we will ask for your vote on the issue. We will also be featuring a Book Review, beginning with the next issue. Ms. Jennifer Carpenter will be the reviewer. You can read a short but very interesting bio of her on-line now. Also, check out the other great articles.. We proud to also feature poetry by Janet Buck & cartoons by Frank Warner. We thank them all very much for the contribution to the magazine

As for Reach Out’s future, we hope to be adding new and exciting features soon.  I need to make a shameless plea here, Reach Out needs your continued support. We really appreciate your membership, but we need additional support to succeed and grow. Reach Out has become a Free subscriber based, sponsor supported website. This has helped to see a huge increase in membership. Reach Out is now relying on advertising as it’s source of revenue.

As you may or may not have noticed, there are several banner ads on the site. These represent various programs. Some are pay per click, while others are pay per sale. The banner at the bottom of Reach Out’s main page is from valueclick, they pay per click. The pay just 12 cents a click, not much, but multiply that times 1,400 (Reach Out’s subscribers), you get an impressive $168 a day, $5,040 a month, just by each member clicking just once a day on that banner. It is possible to click more than once a day, and you don’t even have to buy anything. Then there are the banners at the top of the main page and throughout Reach Out.  Most of them are affiliate programs that pay per sale. There’s amazon.com, officemax.com and beyond.com. They are very reliable sites, offering items at a reasonable price. If you’re shopping for office products, software, books and more, why not buy it through Reach Out.

I have always envisioned Reach Out as a #1 site. With first class features, and exclusive articles and stories. A site that gets updated regularly. I’m sure you’ve seen the intermittent updates, such as the latest issue of the magazine, being a few months late, or software updates taking sometime. Or perhaps you’ve noticed that some of the software used like the chat program isn’t always working, or is slow. That is because they are free lite version.

Wouldn’t be nice to have a paid writer, and/or paid webmaster/webmistress. Other website have it, why shouldn’t we. With your help we can have it too. Again, I thank you for your subscription, and look forward to your continued support. I hope I haven’t offended anyone with this shameless plea.
Thank you,
Jim