THIS week we are launching Holding Our Community Together, our campaign to raise awareness of the impact made by your local newspaper every week.

After the past 18 months saw everyday life disrupted in ways few of us could have imagined, we remain proud of the positive difference the Herald has made during the pandemic and successive lockdowns.

Just as we have done for generations, we have reported on life in our area through the bad times and the good. With people reading our website and following the Herald and its staff on social media, we are reaching more people than ever before.

Nobody understands our community like your trusted local newspaper, so we wanted to shout about the difference we make.

We take pride in the reach, audience engagement and editorial coverage we deliver and the impact we make each week in the area we serve.

During the pandemic, we remained at the forefront of the efforts made by the community to try to overcome the difficulties faced by individuals and organisations.

We wrote about the people who stepped up to the plate, and their successes.

We were a crucial link between those people and the public – we could let everyone know what help was available to those who needed it most.

Indeed, when volunteers were required to help with the vaccine roll-out in Farnham, the Herald launched a campaign for volunteers – and so many readers came forward it was difficult to find roles for them all.

Having published news in this area since 1892 – we started letting readers in Farnham know what was happening in their locality then, and our papers came later in Haslemere (1896), Alton (1899), Bordon (1971) and Liphook (2003) – we can confidently say nobody understands our community, their strengths and challenges, like us.

As well as holding deep local knowledge, we occupy an unrivalled position celebrating the achievements of our people and holding to account those in authority when questions need to be raised for the public interest.

We can point to the unique ways we have led the public response to important local issues.

We have highlighted events at the district council, with claims of bullying in the halls of power, and the spending of millions on a property portfolio.

But we are not here just to report on the problems we have faced. Our brand is built on reporting stories about local people, whether it is the everyday milestones in their lives or their extraordinary achievements.

The good news stories we have enjoyed sharing with you recently include the news Tice’s Meadow in Farnham has been saved, we have campaigned to have more defibrillators in the area – and again, our readers have come up trumps supporting that – and for the powers-that-be to solve the awful pollution problems in Farnham’s town centre.

We heralded the launch of The Shed in Bordon, we revealed the plans to bring a former car showroom in Liphook back to life as a cinema, and we featured the first wedding at the Alton register office as the world started to return to normal.

In Haslemere, we have got behind the annual town festival – and, like everyone else, can’t wait for it to return to its good old days.

The world has changed and continues to change, yet we are proud of the unique place we hold in local life.

We are grateful for your continued support and look forward to sharing all the important news for our community, both in your trusted weekly newspaper or on our website, as we rebuild from the shock of the pandemic.

Most of all, we will value the unique place we hold in the community, reporting on local life as a trusted voice for you. Thank you for supporting us as we carry on, holding our community together.