LAURINBURG — There’s always someone out there who deserves recognition for the good they do in the community, but maybe the means to make that happen aren’t there.

The Laurinburg Exchange wants to give them that recognition.

From now until July 24, the newspaper will accept nominations from the general public for its “Angels Among Us” magazine, which will celebrate those who do good just for the sake of doing good. In the paper and at www.laurinburgexchange.com there will be ads explaining how to submit, whether via snail mail or email. The magazine will feature not just these “angels” but also some of the charitable organizations in the community.

The magazine is scheduled to come out at the end of August, both in between the pages of the newspaper and in digital form. If COVID-19 restrictions allow, The Laurinburg Exchange will host a banquet honoring the “angels.”

“I think the thing that makes it really special for me is these are just everyday people,” said Regional Publisher Brian Bloom. “These are not firefighters and police officers and ministers and teachers who we know do good every day because that’s their career — these are people who do good because somewhere inside them they realize there’s a need and they can fulfill it.”

It can be a willingness to take someone to the doctor’s office in a pinch or picking up meals for someone who’s homebound. Past examples of “angel” submissions have included a woman who donated her hair to cancer patients, a woman who volunteered to give horseback riding lessons to children with special needs, another who served meals to those who had recently lost a loved one, and a pastor who mentored prisoners.

Bloom said that in a previous iteration of the magazine, one of his neighbors who was known as “the cookie lady” was featured. She would show up to people’s houses with a box of cookies simply because she felt people need that from time to time.

“It’s a small thing until it isn’t,” Bloom said. “The ‘angels’ are people that have done things that sometimes had world acclaim and sometimes just impact they block they live on. Who’s to say which one’s more important than the other?”