This eight-year-old girl from Port Dover, Ont. runs and distributes her own local newspaper

Abby Mitchell holds her Junior Citizen award (left) and a baby turtle (right). (Supplied by Katie Sinkowski)

Abby Mitchell is making news in more ways than one.

The eight-year-old Port Dover, Ont. resident is catching the attention of many after creating and maintaining her own local newspaper for the last two years - a project that just saw its 18th edition issued.

The publication, dubbed ‘The Abby Post,’ was born after the Mitchell’s family dog, Frankie, sustained an injury in 2021. Mitchell said she wanted a way to tell her community why the dog wasn’t joining them on walks.

“Then the newsletter kind of grew from Frankie news to local news,” Mitchell’s mom, Katie Sinkowski, told CTV News Toronto during an interview Wednesday.

Since 2020, the newspaper has grown to include book reviews, a things-to-do section and interviews with local businesses.

To write her articles, Mitchell interviews local businesses or individuals and has her aunt type them out as she dictates. When Mitchell’s in school, she publishes the newspaper once a month, but when summer rolls around, she bumps distribution up to once a week. Currently, The Abby Post has both physical and digital editions.

She says her favourite story so far has been a piece she wrote about turtles nesting in her backyard.

“The turtles were a huge update."

Supplied by Katie Sinkowski

Mitchell uses the project to raise funds for the Port Dover Food Bank. Last fall, she was able to present them with a cheque for $3,400 – all raised through The Abby Post.

“I saw people that didn't have enough food, so I wanted a way to help people that needed food,” she explained when asked why she chose the food bank.

Sinkowski said the response has been overwhelming. "It's just warming everyone's hearts, I guess, to see a little girl do something so good."

Abby Mitchell hands a cheque over to the Port Dover Food Bank (Supplied by Katie Sinkowski)

Since launching The Abby Post, Mitchell has accumulated quite the fanbase — she said she’s heard from Canadians as far as Saskatchewan who support her work.

Closer to home, Cottage North Soapworks, one of Mitchell's distributors, located in Port Dover, told CTV News Toronto that the newspaper "makes everybody smile."

"She inspires us all," the company said. "From her quote about how she is 'always working' to her positive spirit in everything she does, she's always wanting to help however she can."

"The world needs more people like Abby."

Mitchell's praise doesn't stop with the community, either  — over March break, she was presented with a Junior Citizenship award by Port Dover MPP Toby Barrett and the Ontario Newspaper Community Association. According to Sinkowski, Mitchell was by far the youngest recipient.

“It felt very exciting."

Although she is just eight-years-old, Mitchell already has plans for a career in journalism. Right now, she says she likes writing the articles better than asking the questions, but she’s working on honing her interview skills.

Just a few weeks ago, she came across a woman in her community watering some flowers and used the opportunity to “ask some questions on the spot.”

“I just like learning,” she said. 

Abby Mitchell delivers her paper (Supplied by Katie Sinkowski)