Giving thanks for a caring community

by Phil Hanson, President and CEO, Truman Heartland Community Foundation

As we move into the holiday season, it’s a special time to pause and give thanks. Not that giving thanks should be limited to an annual ritual.  Giving thanks is an important component of my daily prayer routine. I am certainly greatly blessed and thank God for my wife, my wife’s health, my health, my children and their health, my granddaughter Jacklynn, my siblings...and many more.
 
However, during this season of thanksgiving and giving, as I look back on the year, I have recognized several other things that I am truly thankful for. One of these is the incredible strength, commitment and fortitude of my nonprofit colleagues in our community serving those in need. They have weathered an incredibly chaotic year, due to the dramatic changes from the Executive Branch of our federal government that have impacted grant funding and many other processes.
 
And recently, they stepped up to fill the breach created when SNAP benefits were paused during the government shutdown. As we enter the holiday season, many of our social service nonprofits need our continued support now more than ever due to starting this season with their resources depleted by their crucial response to the SNAP crisis.
 
As you are giving thanks and giving, please give generously to organizations in our Eastern Jackson County Community, like Community Services League, Coldwater, Lee’s Summit Social Service, Raytown Emergency Assistance Program (REAP), and many more that are enabling families to celebrate the holidays. 
 
You can find a more complete list on the homepage of our website www.thcf.org. Click on “Help the SNAP Funding Crisis”. And if you are not personally food insecure, consider adding that to your daily “I am thankful for” prayer list, as I have. It’s very easy to take so much for granted.
 
I am also very grateful for the generosity of donors who have created a fund with the Foundation. Last year, our total grants and scholarships were $9 million, and we are on pace to set another record again this year due to their generosity. It truly is a privilege to support the charitable giving of generous people in our community.
 
Wishing you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving and a Merry Christmas.

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