Sometime in our life, each of us has thought, “have I done anything worthwhile?” As we get older, we think about this more and more.
Most of us have dreamed about being an explorer, medical researcher, or astronaut – or perhaps dreamed of inventing something that will make millions of dollars. However, it is the little things that we do every day that may give us the best opportunity to do something worthwhile – to make a difference. Recently we read that if we can do something helpful to one person, our life has been a success.
Perhaps your opportunity is in your own circle of family and friends. Perhaps it is in your church, a civic group, your neighborhood, or serving on a school or agency board. We are blessed to have a very active and charitable community.
For those of us working with the Morris Community Foundation, we have found an opportunity to make a difference in our community. What we do is simple: we try to identify problems in our community, then provide leadership and funding to both understand and attack these problems. Finally, we give donors the vehicle for funding the problems that they see – we “connect people who care with causes that matter.”
Issues we currently see as our priorities are community growth, people in need, child care, workforce development, and land use & the environment. Regarding growth: we want to make sure our elected and appointed officials have the tools they need to make smart decisions regarding the growth of our community. Child care is about quality, quantity, affordability, and availability. Workforce development is about technical and “soft” skills, such as attendance and attitude. Regarding land use & the environment, we need a more unified, county-wide effort to make sure that our natural resources are protected.
So if we have an active and charitable community and a busy community foundation, how can we work together? If your organization addresses one of our priority issues, tell us what you’re doing and maybe we can provide some funding. If you have another issue that needs attention, tell us and maybe we can provide leadership to get the issue more exposure. If you are a donor who wants to make an impact, call us and let us teach you about the tools we offer that can make your charitable dollars work harder in the community.
All of us working in lots of little ways can make a difference, and the Morris Community Foundation is here to help.