In this season of giving, and receiving, it does a heart well to reflect on those among us who give throughout the year, without expecting anything in return.
Every year, Snohomish County citizens and businesses donate millions of dollars to the annual United Way Community Caring Campaign, knowing the funds will stay here, to help people — our neighbors — in need.
This organized giving is the backbone of community support. The money raised each year reflects the generosity, and hope, of those who want to help.
And every day, through other acts, that generosity of spirit is also reflected, although likely in quieter ways. Small gifts don’t diminish the giving spirit, they enhance it, just as when those who have little want to share with those who have less still.
The gift of time is invaluable. Those who visit the homebound, or hospitalized, and those who take the time to truly listen to a troubled child, give a generous gift, indeed.
We are a stronger community for every person who volunteers at a school, who delivers meals to the elderly, who cradles premature babies in the hospital.
We are a more beautiful community for every person who volunteers at a park, who plants flowers and picks weeds, and tends community gardens.
Every good act contributes to who we are, though “the sum” is hard to calculate in traditional ways. We benefit from selfless people all over the place. Those who help strangers clear muck from their barns after a flood; neighbors who bring a meal to a family facing a health crisis; a family who invites a lonely person to dinner.
We are a kinder community for every person who volunteers at the animal shelter, for every one who brings their pet to visit people in hospitals and retirement homes, for every time a child pats a friendly dog.
We are a better community for every Big Brother and Big Sister among us, for foster parents and student mentors. And for everyone who play those roles without an official organization.
Good souls among us make this a more vital community by reaching out to immigrants and other newcomers and helping them feel at home. Kindness is easy to understand. A warm welcome is easy to communicate. Gifts of food are the universal language.
Day to day, it’s easy to take for granted the countless gifts given freely by others. Which is why at this time of year, we take special care to remember and be thankful for the selfless, often anonymous, rarely heralded contributions of so many caring Snohomish County citizens.
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