In my almost 19 year association with The Contributor and holding Vendor Badge #0002, I have a pretty good idea who buys our paper. I believe our focus has shifted from just buying the paper to also reading the paper. In my years of active vending, I have encountered a really diverse cross-section of customers who buy The Contributor.
So just who does buy The Contributor? Here are just a few examples of some of my personal diverse clientele of customers who have purchased The Contributor from me over the past almost 19 years. A kid on a skateboard. A man driving a garbage truck. Someone who dropped a few dollars in change off a fourth story apartment building in a Ziplock bag with a balloon attached. A professor on his way to Vanderbilt to teach class. A country music star. A lady in a car behind the hearse in a funeral procession (R.I.P. Alan Bubis). And many other fantastic generous folks along my journey with The Contributor.
Finally, the matter which I find to be of the up most importance to The Contributor vendors is the responsibility of us to encourage our customers to READ THE PAPER. Many of our patrons are very invested in our own individual stories and how we came to be vendors of The Contributor. As our customers and readers are engaged by our vendors, not only are our personal stories put out there for all to read, but it gives the folks who buy our paper a reason to READ our paper, which will in all likelihood increase sales and continue the existence and success of The Contributor.