New to RSM Patch? Check Us Out

Are you discovering Patch for the first time? If so, you might be interested to know a little bit about it.

• Keep up with news and events
• Post announcements, from garage sales to wedding anniversaries
• Share your perspectives via our blogging platform
• Check out photos and videos from around town
• Learn more about local businesses and the people behind them
• Participate in discussions
• Share your photos, reviews and opinions
  
• Find or post a volunteer opportunity

RSM Patch is one of more than 900 communities nationwide, with most cities in south Orange County having their own Patch (you can find them at Patch.com). Although the URL is technically RanchoSantaMargarita.patch.com, you can get to Patch by typing RSM.patch.com—saving you a full 17 keystrokes.

Rancho Santa Margarita Patch has a local editor, Martin Henderson, who previously covered sports for the Los Angeles Times. The Los Angeles Press Club named him the Online Journalist of the Year, and the judging panel said: "His work serves as a model for the future of journalism on the Internet." 

You don't have to be a professional writer to blog for us. We want engaged people from our communities and our world. If you want to contribute, just click the icon that says "Start Blogging" on the homepage. Local voices are an important part of Patch.

It's just as easy to post Announcements (wedding, births, graduation, honor roll, Little League score, etc.) and Events for your organization. Best yet, it's all free—and how often do you get something free?

Patch is interested in contributions from everyone, and if you come across breaking news, snap a photo and upload it to the site. 

If you're a business owner or manager, you should definitely claim your directory listing on Patch Patch so that you can update it with employees or patrons of the month, price guides, menus and photos. If your business isn't listed in the directory, click the icon that says "add it" and jump on board. Same was announcements and events, it's free too.

Even though the FBI considers RSM the safest city in the state for its size, there's still plenty of police news happening. Patch covers crime as well as city government (not that they go hand-in-hand), business, schools and sports. 

Oh, and if you have a child attending the Capistrano Unified School District, Patch is the place for the most in-depth coverage of CUSD. Patch is also expanding its coverage of the Saddleback Valley Unified School District.

Don't forget to follow RSM Patch on Facebook and Twitter.

If Patch isn't part of your routine, be sure to sign up for the daily Patch Newsletter, which will arrive in your inbox every day with a listing of some of the most recent stories published on the site.