The Miracle Of You, Working
We’ve talked a lot about reimagining and building back better.
For me, the blessing of this last year has been that you are reimagining and rebuilding what it means to be in community, here in the Rogue Valley, starting in your own heart.
You faced flames, ruins, and sadness and still find that place in your heart that reaches towards hope, that place in your mind that sees a new way forward; you amaze me.
I am encouraged by each of you who:
- Knock on the door of a FEMA trailer to find out about a person’s needs
- Answer the phones when traumatized, frustrated fire survivors call for help, again
- Deliver meal kits to families still living in hotels
- Search for the way to improve the process when trauma turns to anger at the overburdened systems of support and recovery
The rebuilding process is slow, but you are doing it. You are looking for ways to reach out, to step up, to meet needs, to bring an ounce of cheer into a sea of challenge and pain.
I am honored to be with you in this process of reimagining and rebuilding ourselves, as a community.
Thank you for including R3V in your work.
Updates and Other Good News
And, of course, our work in the community continues, see our final dashboard of the year here.
Thanks to the Community Rebuilding Fund, a partnership between Oregon Community Foundation, Meyer Memorial Trust, The Ford Family Foundation and The American Red Cross, with primary funding through individual donations and corporate and foundation support, for making our work possible.
Additionally, please take a moment to complete this survey on community resilience by Rogue Climate.
Also, I’ve had the honor of facilitating a couple of meetings with local and state housing experts in support of the NewSpirit housing project. Learn more about the project in a great MailTribune article here and on KOBI5 news here.
But wait, please help promote these great job opportunities at our partner, ACCESS.
Finally, The Ford Family Foundation has recently released Oregon By The Numbers report that contains a lot of data that may be helpful in strategic planning and grant applications for your organization.
Phew, enjoy your holiday celebrations!
