Thanksgiving is a time for reflection for the many blessings
in our life that we are thankful for. One of the things I am most thankful for is my
work with United Way. Every day at
United Way we witness the needs of our community. I don’t mean the needs on paper – I mean looking
in their eyes and listening to their story, needs of our community. Families living with no heat, water or
electricity, children who are hungry, individuals who are homeless. I have always believed that everyone crosses
my path for a reason, you just have to look for the reason that your path has
crossed. So here are three lessons I
have learned this year.
Be grateful for the little things. Did your lights turn on when you flipped the
switch? Did you have a warm bed to lay
your head last night? Be grateful, more
people than you think in this community want for the most basic necessities. Somewhere in Marshfield someone is praying
for things that we take for granted every day.
People are amazingly resilient. Some of the things I have
witnessed this year and stories that I have heard are enough to make me want to
crawl into bed, pull the covers over my head and stay there. I don’t know that I could keep going through
some of the challenges that some of the individuals we have served this year
are facing. These individuals suffer
blow after blow, but yet stand in front of me saying I am not a quitter. If life is not challenging you today, be
grateful.
Lastly, we live in a community that truly has amazing and
caring individuals. The work that we do
at United Way and through our Partner Programs only happens because of donations
and volunteers. Through gifts of time
and treasure we have the resources to help the neediest of our community. When we are able to put a warm coat on a
child on a cold and blustery day, or provide a child with food for the weekend,
I am so incredibly grateful for all of the individuals who believe in their
community and the work that we do here at United Way. The United Way campaign is currently
underway. If you haven’t made a
contribution yet this year, please consider doing so. Our community would be so thankful.
Paula Jero, Executive Director
Marshfield Area United Way
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