Donate to Smile Politely // Watson's Shack + Rail // June 2026

We're raising support for our Writers Fund with the help of our partners at Watson's Shack & Rail.

For every $25 you donate, you'll receive $25 in gift cards to Watson's — yes, $25 for $25. It's that simple. So you'll end up supporting two local businesses inside of one generous donation, and for that, we are all grateful. Once our allotment of gift cards is sold out, that's it for this campaign, so act quickly! 

Check out some coverage of Watson's we've done recently:

🐓2026 Champaign-Urbana food truck index

💎 I dreamt about caviar and cristalino

Since we launched our donation component of the magazine, you’ve shown us just how much you care about the work our editors and writers are doing. We're hoping to raise additional funds for our Featured Articles section. Recently, Food & Drink Editor Alyssa Buckley compiled a compendium of over 50 C-U food trucks for the section. A great way to put those gift cards to use? Treating yourself to a delicious breakfast from Watson's food truck at Urbana's Market at the Square or a tasty fish sandwich at the Shack.

Once again, we are humbly asking you to consider a donation to Smile Politely. Thank you for your consideration! We are grateful for your readership.