Hey there, my awesome friends!

It feels like just yesterday we dropped that heartfelt article, "You being so good to us, and now? What's next?" as a big ol' thank you for all the love and support you've shown us. But guess what? We've got some exciting updates to share!

Now, I know you've probably noticed a bit of a lull in the number of posts and articles recently. Don't worry, we're not slacking off; quite the opposite! We've been busting our tails on something super cool, and I can't wait to spill the beans.

So, remember when we first unveiled our "grand plan" a few months back? We talked about translating our articles into French, and that was the game plan. But you know what happened? We had a lightbulb moment. We realized that we had a golden opportunity to take our website to the next level. 🌟

What started as a modest project meant to express our love for our charming little town has now evolved into something grander. In just six months, we've churned out over 220 articles, and that got us thinking. We've decided to create a bilingual website to showcase all the wonderful aspects of our town from a unique perspective that you won't find elsewhere. We aim to join the conversation by offering original, free content for everyone to leave Chelsea in an even better state than we found it.

You see, we're not the types to gripe about crowded days and heavy traffic. Instead, we want to convey to all our visitors that Chelsea is not just a stunning place; it's also home to some incredibly warm-hearted locals. When you visit us, we hope you'll treat our nature, Gatineau Park, and small local businesses with the same kindness we do. They say, "Lead by example," and we believe that sharing a wealth of information that showcases the beauty of our village, combined with tips on being a responsible visitor, is our way of giving back to the community.

With all this in mind, we've decided to pour even more time and resources into this project to provide the best possible experience for our website visitors. The new website will feature plenty of maps, a local guide to the best Chelsea locations, and trails, and a seasonal list of activities. We're aiming to roll out the new website before November bids us adieu and complete the French translation by year's end.

Now, we'll be the first to admit that it won't be all smooth sailing from the get-go. Migrating old and new content is a time-consuming process, but we ask for your patience, and we promise to do our utmost.

So, what's next on the horizon? A whole lot, actually. The website and social media content aren't the endgame; they're our way of building and giving back to our community. Our goal is to find ways to finance community projects that will make Chelsea an even better place in the future. We want to empower the next generation of Chelsea Champions to preserve Gatineau Park and the beauty of our beloved town. As we mentioned a while back, to achieve this, we need to break even on our costs. Up until now, we've covered all expenses out of our own pockets, and we've been more than happy to do so. Running a blog isn't terribly expensive unless you factor in the hours spent creating content.

With the new website, fixed costs are going to jump, so in 2024, we'll be incorporating and opening a small store. We'll be selling some pretty cool clothing items that we've fallen in love with, and we hope you'll dig them too. Once we reach our break-even point next year, we've got some big plans in store! We aim to become a B-Corp, which means we'll be part of a global movement for an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy. Our goal is to give back a significant chunk of our profits to projects within Chelsea that we believe can make a real impact on the lives of locals and visitors.

Now, we know that we may not be able to pull off massive feats right from the start, but we're committed, and day by day, year by year, we hope to give back more and more, with your incredible support.

Before we sign off, here's a sneak peek of our upcoming website. We're all ears and excited to hear your feedback and ideas! So don't be shy – let us know your thoughts.