Patch Launches Dispatches: What is Your American Dream?

Patch is launching a new initative for our readers: "Dispatches: The Changing American Dream."

Every day, the national media is full of stories about how American families, businesses, and neighbors are adjusting to these trying times. The changes in the past few years can be dizzying: national debates about unemployment, foreclosures, debt, religion, government and private enterprise all touch on fundamental ways in which we see ourselves and our communities.

At Bellevue Patch, we want to explore that conversation on a daily basis so we can better understand how our neighbors are adjusting to the challenges and opportunities that surround us.

We don't think there's one American Dream, but a multitude of American Dreams which a multitude of people are working toward. Across almost 900 Patch sites, we see businesses holding their breath deciding whether to expand; college graduates returning home because they can't find jobs; and senior citizens bringing boarders into their homes to help pay their bills.

We also see bold new volunteer efforts, inspiring stories of local businesses that succeed because they innovated, and locals who've taken these trying times as a signal to engage more, not less, in their government.

At the purely local level, we want to know where we, as Bellevue neighbors, fit along these fault lines.

Bellevue has become one of the most diverse areas in the state, with , which is celebrated at and .

Part of the draw to Bellevue has been its location for innovative companies and thinking. We're the home everyone from a to being the seat of -- but not everyone is sharing that financial success. About 20 percent of the families in the Bellevue School District are on the free and reduced lunch program and the .

And while entrepreneurs are able to , other local employers face .

So, we want your help: Tell us what issues and what stories in Bellevue go to the heart of your American Dream.

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