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It’s been a long year. While sometimes I think it just became 2024, now it’s almost over, but it does seem like we are going through an awful lot this year. Oh, I might have said that at this time last year, too. But, somehow, this is different.
We are experiencing a drought. We’ve experienced a rough political season, and some of those tensions will continue. We’re experiencing an increase in homelessness and food insecurity. And it’s burning some people out. These things come in waves, in cycles . . . but it always seems that THIS one is the worst.
So, it is easy to be frustrated, and to wonder what will happen next.
If I can experience these concerns . . . and I have a home and a secure living . . . what must this be like to the families we help each day who are facing housing insecurity? The people to whom we give meals every day at the Walk-In Dinner Program?
It is very difficult to comprehend that.
Yet, especially at this time of year, it helps when I sit back, consider my situation, and then consider how Family Promise helps those who are not so fortunate.
It’s not just a day, this Thanksgiving. It is a season. For some, it’s the long Thanksgiving weekend. For others, it extends through the end of the year.
But, as I get just a little bit older each year, I’m beginning to think that this period of Thanksgiving should be the whole year. Every day should be one when we give thanks for all we have.
One way I do that is to give thanks that, nearly 40 years ago, several people had the vision and audacity to address the issue of housing and food insecurity. They understood that the real answer to address these issues was NOT to rely on government support, but to build a base of individual and corporate donors that wanted to support an organization that simply helped those in need. No crazy overhead, no political affiliations – just hundreds and hundreds of people who wanted to support us.
Every day, we support families who need housing. We have people who can help them dream of ways they can get higher paying jobs . . . and the ability to get them the training to learn skills that will enable them to do just that.
Every day, we provide free dinners to hundreds of people in need and, because of that, they can pay their rent and remain stably-housed.
So, in this season of Thanksgiving, the Board and Staff of Family Promise want to thank YOU for all you do to support the work we do. YOU ARE CHANGING LIVES WITH YOUR SUPPORT OF FAMILY PROMISE.
My hope is that you realize that, embrace that, and think of us – and all YOU do – when you gather with loved ones this Thanksgiving.
Paul Shackford
President of the Board of Trustees