Appreciating our Blessings

With Thanksgiving approaching rapidly, it is a wonderful time to appreciate all of our blessings.  I want to share a few things for which I am grateful…

Among the more obvious of these blessings for which I am grateful is my new organization and role supporting our community.  I am delighted and yet humbled.  How rewarding it is to be working here with our Board, our staff, and our community volunteers.  I am grateful for the opportunity to work with and for an organization so committed to supporting our community.  And I am grateful for the opportunity to get to know so many more people and stakeholders who share our passion and make all of this work in our community possible. 

Speaking for the Community Foundation, we as an organization have so much for which to be grateful.  We are grateful that Lorain County is full of people like you, who express their gratitude through action.  Who leave the warmth of their own homes to drive hot meals to homebound seniors.  Or who donate a portion of each paycheck to ensure a permanent future for their community school.  Or neighbors who just check on each other.  And friends who take home a shelter dog as a new member of the family.  Whether one relies upon hard data and financial metrics or heartwarming anecdotal accounts, we are incredibly fortunate to live in such a caring and giving community.

In expressing this gratitude, I want the focus to be on you, our community heroes.  You are our critical partners working on the street, identifying, recognizing, and addressing the needs, challenges, and opportunities for making our communities welcome and affirming places for all.  Winston Churchill long ago observed that the pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, and the optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.  As I recount our abundance of reasons to be grateful, I am profoundly optimistic about the work that we, across our communities, are doing and will do to make our partnership stronger than ever. 

Thanks again to all of the donors, partners, volunteers, and other stakeholders for all you do.  You are truly making a difference as we work to connect people who care with causes that matter.