​Celebrating America’s Independence for the Greater Good!

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“May we think of freedom not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right.” – Peter Marshall

Celebrating America’s Independence for the Greater Good!
I hope you had a great holiday weekend! Much of the news has focused on celebrating being back together! Many of us spent the past weekend at BBQ’s, watching fireworks and enjoying parades. Thankfully, this year looks a lot different than it did last year. We can finally hug our family, friends and neighbors, gather safely, and enjoy each other’s company.
I recently read an opinion piece that shared that the best way to love our country is to fight to make it fairer, more equal and work for more opportunity for all. As I read this, I thought about the work that we all do as development professionals. Whether you work in education, the arts, animal welfare, human services, health care – you name it – we are all working in a space that strives for the greater good of our community, our city, our country, our world.
And while this is the fundamental basis and the mission for our work, I, for one, sometimes get busy and lost in the details and don’t stop to think too much about why we do this work. I’ve been busy thinking about and planning for the year ahead of us. What did I learn from the most unusual year we just left behind and what lies ahead? And yet, while we tweak our plans and map out our year ahead, today, let’s stop for just a moment and be in the present.
Let’s really think about why we do this work…why is it important to us? Yes, we aren’t the ones at the front lines…the counselors, the teachers, the artists, the doctors…but, what we do every day to connect with donors and friends to support our missions helps make this life-changing work possible. And, it makes our community, our city, our country, a better place.
Happy Birthday, America.

Photo by Brett Sayles from Pexels