Fall always means transition. Summer is over, school starts, days turn crisp, and, as a huge bonus, there are caramel apples available everywhere. Every year in our part of the world, the trees get perfectly magical before the leaves disappear altogether. It’s a busy time, with the holidays looming and activities piling up.
As I continue to add things to my calendar I wish for more hours, more availability. There is so much I would like to do. I recently got involved with a ministry at my church and see so many possibilities of how it will be helpful for the people it serves. There is no end to the needs of the world, but a definitive limit to the time we have to spend on any given enterprise or interest. We are all just one person.
At Community Purse, we get to confound that principle by becoming much more than “just one.”
We gather in our noisy, fun group, and then get quiet to listen to organizations who need support, who need what we can offer – a combining of our resources to help them move from point A to point B. We listen to these amazing people talk about the great work they are doing in our communities (some of which I didn’t even know existed, both the need and the organization) and are touched by them all.
I have been a part of Community Purse now for years, and I can say without reservation that there has never been a night when my thought was, “Well, there’s a need I don’t care about,” or “Wow, that organization doesn’t deserve our support.” There are very few slam dunk nights where, in my mind, there is a clear way to go. I have to think, to weigh. We individually cast our vote on which organization to support that night from a whisper in our souls, or personal preference, or feeling – not because one is inherently more worthy than the next.
I am so grateful for Community Purse. It allows me to be much more informed about organizations I would probably never know about in my area. It continually stretches me to be aware of things far past the relative safety of my life and see needs I wish were not there but am so glad are being addressed.
It is not only the organization getting our grant that is blessed at our meetings. None of us leave unchanged.
By Shannon Plate
McHenry County Chapter