By now, you may have noticed Thanksgiving is early this year for the Sun Journal. Our biggest newspaper of the year was delivered this morning, and we are taking a break on Thanksgiving Day to give our staff the chance to spend the day with their families.

There will be no print or ePaper delivery tomorrow, but sunjournal.com will be updated with news as it breaks.

Although today’s newspaper is different than in years past, our Thanksgiving edition is still stuffed with ads, fliers and offers to help with your holiday shopping.

On our front page we have featured five people whose kindness, compassion and determination over the past year have helped the people around them and improved our communities, including a hospice worker caring for a Topsham woman and a Community Concepts volunteer driver who provides rides critical to people all over the state. They are our Mainers to be Thankful For.

Here, at the Sun Journal, we are most thankful for you, our committed readers, subscribers and advertisers.

If not for your support through your subscription we wouldn’t be able to deliver the news and stories that reflect the communities in which we live. Now more than ever your investment in our journalism funds the work of our reporters and photographers.

The Sun Journal has produced countless stories about how our communities are navigating the challenges of COVID-19, but even though virus coverage has been the overwhelming news of the day, our journalists have continued to report on the people and issues that are important to you.

Local journalism requires research, time and resources and we thank you for your continued support.

We are also thankful for the many businesses that support our efforts through their advertising. They trust our staff to develop and create important messages about their businesses and the many challenges and changes they are facing and how they have adapted to better serve you, our readers.

Look for the Small Business Saturday pages running this Saturday featuring 21 businesses eager to present their goods and services and help you prepare for the holidays and beyond.

This week provides an opportunity for us to celebrate, in physically distanced ways, the people in our families and in our communities whom we cherish. Although this holiday season is fundamentally altered by the coronavirus pandemic, and we all feel the distance between us, today is a good day to remind ourselves to not only be grateful for what we have but also to share our blessings, to spread our love and resources beyond the walls of our homes.

If you are able, reach out to the people in your community and ask “how can I help”? Is it a ready-to-eat dinner for the tired mom? A meal and some gift cards for a family in need? A coffee shop gift card and care package for a teacher who is working beyond measure? Perhaps a Sun Journal gift subscription for a loved one hunkering down at home to stay safe?

There is much to be thankful for today. Our entire organization — from our reporters, press operators, designers, advertising representatives, production and distribution personnel  — wish a very Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

Jody Jalbert is vice president and general manager of the Sun Media Group.