Today Patch is giving a name to something that is at the core of who we are with the launch of “Dispatches: The Changing American Dream.”

Powder Springs-Lithia Springs Patch and nearly 900 other Patches in 22 states and the District of Columbia are embarking not on a short-term series, but on an enduring mission. That mission, Dispatches, is to bring you the stories that reveal how all of us are dealing with the realities of life in America today as we strive to achieve the American Dream.

We don't think there's one American Dream, but a multitude of American Dreams. We hope you’ll share your vision of the American Dream, the ways it is changing, and how you and your neighbors are adapting. Just email powdersprings@patch.com or comment on this article.

The local aspect is the key to Dispatches and the reason this effort is something that sets Patch apart from all the other media attempts to address such big issues as unemployment, health care, debt, bank failures, taxes, housing and education.

The goal is not to push a national perspective. Instead, we are going to tell the ever-changing American epic of how we survive and thrive one story at a time. Each Dispatches story will be a piece in the local puzzle.

The resulting local puzzles at the eight Patches in Cobb will form a picture of life across the county. The 42 Patches in Georgia will develop an even bigger picture of life across our swath of the state.

And with the Dispatches from more than 850 Patches, a national mosaic of American life will take shape. You’ll see the good and the bad, the hopeful and the desperate, people overcoming adversity and finding opportunity amid the crises we hear about every day, and people struggling just to make it to the next day.

You’ve seen such stories already on Patch. Some examples:

• The Cobb Chamber of Commerce and the business associations across the county came together for one huge JAM session because businesses large and small recognized a shared need to support one another.
• Three new local businesses based on food and drinks—the Powder Springs Coffee and Bake Shoppe, Lily Torte Baking Co. and Off the Bone BBQ—opened this year to try to find their respective niches in Powder Springs.
• A previously undeveloped strip mall on C.H. James Parkway now is the home to a dentist office, boutique and salon, which each hope to thrive in a struggling economy.

Expect many more ahead, covering every aspect of our daily lives because every aspect of daily life helps build our dreams. The stories won’t come on a regular schedule, but they’ll always have the Dispatches label so you can find them easily on our site. And look for #Dispatches on Twitter to see the national story grow, Patch by Patch.

You’ll often see stories in the media that attempt to set our lives into historical context. The worst economy since the Great Depression. The longest war in American history. The biggest budget deficit. The most important election.

With Dispatches, we’re leaving history to the historians and focusing on the here, in your hometown, and now, in 2011 and beyond. I hope you’ll take what should be a fascinating and meaningful journey with us in the months to come.