When my daughter was born three-and-a-half years ago, I did what anyone about to become a first-time, stay-at-home-dad, with no family and only a few friends with kids in town, would do: I turned to the internet. I looked for things to do with my babygirl in Bakersfield, for answers to all the questions my wife and I had, for cool baby gear to buy (or lust after, at least), and for other new parents to talk to and connect with.

Now, I’m proud to introduce you to RaisingBakersfield.com, an online community from The Bakersfield Californian for local parents. Here, you’ll find an event calendar filled with things to do with your family in your area. You’ll find discussion forums where you can ask questions of and share your wisdom with other local parents. You can start your own online journal, and read and comment on others’. You can share family snapshots in an online scrapbook. You’ll also be able to find bargains and deals from local businesses in our Parent Perks discount program, place and peruse online classified ads aimed at other parents, and enter contests to win exciting prizes.

Our print newsletter will be a monthly sampling of what’s waiting for you online, with photos, articles, and journal posts contributed by your fellow parents. You’ll also get event listings and local shopping deals, more of which you’ll find on the website. You can also sign up for a weekly email newsletter that will catch you up on the latest contests, the newest events, and the most interesting discussions and journal posts from your fellow parents.

RaisingBakersfield.com is a place, on the web, where we can connect and reflect together. Parenting is both the most challenging and the most important job we will ever have, but we can’t do it alone. We shouldn’t have to. This is our community, one we are building for the sake of our children, and together, we are all Raising Bakersfield.

[Edit.: Check out my update on site features (as of April 24).]