We have all seen the horrific images of destruction and suffering on the lives of the Ukrainian people over these past several weeks. Moved by their courage, many of us have offered to send help in the ways that we can. That is what caring citizens of the world do during times of need.

And during these past two years of our own disruption and challenges brought on by the pandemic, many of us have been motivated to help our neighbors in the many ways that we can. That is what a caring community does during times of need.

As much as we would like it to be otherwise, we are still surrounded by great need. Unprecedented high fuel costs, grocery bills that make it even more challenging to put healthy food on the table and a housing crisis that is pulling more individuals and families further into poverty. All these things prolong the uncertainly and threaten community stability.

I know I am not telling you anything that you don’t already know. But sometimes we can get so used to hearing about it that it becomes background noise. That is unless you are someone who is suffering. Then that is the only noise you hear.

That is why it is even more important that we strengthen the social safety net that vulnerable residents count on during times of need. The safety net that SOS has provided for the past 54 years. And the safety net that has also become more vulnerable as we are asked to do more with much less.

But we believe that it is exactly at times like this when we are tested the most. The time when community gets to show what it stands for. When instead of turning off the news and the statistics, we let that fuel our passion for doing good. When we turn our feelings into action.

Afterall, it’s always been the passion of caring people that leads to positive change. That, in fact, is the origin of the SOS story. Please, let’s not take it for granted. Thank you for caring.

With our grateful hearts,

Susanna Newton

Executive Director

P.S. If you would like to turn your feelings into immediate action, click on the link below to learn more about how your actions make an impact.

www.sosd69.com/operationrenewal